Koutarou Star
by Angelsaurus
Summary: Depressed after failing college entrance exams, Koutarou picks up a microphone and a star is born. But when a concert tour in America goes horribly wrong, it triggers the adventure of a lifetime for Koutarou, Julie, and Akaba.
1. Anxiety

Free Talk- I have decided to change my penname. From now on I am a mighty dinosaur! I am so happy that I have finally written the first chapter of a story about another one of my very favorite Eyeshield 21 pairings. In my head, it fits into the same timeline as "Bittersweet Symphony" and "The Greatest Christmas Gift," but it's not directly connected. Since it's about music, all the chapter titles are going to be songs (this one is by Pat Benatar) and there will be a lot of other rock and roll references just for fun. I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me what you think.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 1: Anxiety

* * *

"My ID number is ninety-nine! Same as my number on the Spiders! That's got to be a sign! Don't you think it's a sign? Julie?"

"I think it's just a coincidence," Julie said cautiously. She watched his lower lip puff out in a small pout at her lack of support and she sighed. "You studied hard, Koutarou. And you did great on all your practice exams. That's what gets you into college, not magic numbers."

But despite what she'd just said, her sweaty hands unclenched and pressed palm-to-palm as she silently prayed. _God, Buddha, Grandma in heaven, please let him pass this test. He worked so hard_.

Koutarou seemed significantly less anxious. In fact, he was downright brimming with confidence. "Well I still think it's a sign," he insisted. "So can you see the results yet? Do you see ninety-nine on there?"

"My vision is no better than yours," she said. "We're just going to have to wait until the crowd thins out a little and we can get closer. Just remember, if you don't…" Her words of caution were cut off mid-sentence when an elbow crashed into her back so hard that it knocked the sunglasses off her head.

"Hey watch it, buddy!" Koutarou barked. His arm hooked protectively around her back. "Alright Julie, we're not just gonna stand around while you get manhandled. I'll get us to the front of the pack the _smart_ way."

"No, I'm fine. Really I…" Her protests were drowned out by the grunts and growls of the people he squeezed and shoved past as he pulled her through the throng. Apparently 'manhandling' was okay as long as he was the one doling it out. To his credit, though, he did manage to deliver her through the crowd without being bumped even once.

"Alright, I can see the exam results," he said eagerly. "Let's both look for my number."

Julie's stomach twisted like a dishtowel being wrung out. The situation was unfolding in an eerily similar fashion to the last four university entrance results. Each time, Koutarou had been absolutely certain that he'd passed, claiming he made _smart_ work of that school's easy test. And bafflingly, each failure to matriculate made him even more convinced of his prospects for the next school.

But there were no more prospects after this. He had only taken the entrance exams for five universities and he'd already failed four.

She crossed four pairs of fingers.

"Ah, there!" He exclaimed. "Ninety-seven, ninety-eight… one hundred…" His voice stopped and his arm on Julie's back went floppy and fell off.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only soundless air came out.

Koutarou's dark grey eyes blinked at the digital screen displaying all the numbers that weren't his. "I failed…" he uttered in a numb monotone. "I didn't get into college."

After a few swallows to wet her throat, Julie finally was able to speak. "You'll study even harder and take the tests again next year. All you need is a few more months to prepare." Her words of solace probably would have been more convincing if she actually believed in them.

Sawai Julie knew damn well that her friend's test-taking troubles had nothing to do with a lack of studying. That boy studied his butt off for these exams. And he really was smart, not like his favorite word for describing his own perceived coolness, but intelligent.

No, it wasn't about studying or intelligence. It was all about nerves, the handicap he wasn't even vaguely aware of. But he didn't need her to lecture him about it right now. Right now he needed a distraction.

She pulled out her cell phone and speed-dialed a number. "Hey, it's me. Can you meet us somewhere? As long as it's some place fun. It… it's kind of an emergency. Really? A new karaoke bar just a block away from Bando? That sounds good. Yeah. Okay, see you there."

Closing the phone, she turned optimistic eyes to Koutarou. He was still staring, still silent. A quiet Koutarou was not a good sign. "Come on," she gently urged, fingers clutching the sleeve of his jacket. "Let's go to the karaoke bar and just have fun. Then tomorrow we can make a plan for how you're going to pass those exams next spring."

His eyes looked down at her and blinked in astonishment. "Wait… You mean me and you at a karaoke bar together? Just the two of us? Like… a date?"

There was a shimmer of hope on his face that she hated having to extinguish, especially when just moments ago he'd looked so desolate. "Like as friends, silly," she sighed. "Besides, it won't be just the two of us. Didn't you hear me on the phone? I asked Akaba to join us."

"What?" he squawked. "Why'd you hafta invite that guitar-obsessed jerk? I don't want him to share in my humiliation."

Julie rolled her neck, exasperated. "You still can't acknowledge that you and Akaba are friends?"

"I can," he said with a childish pout. "I just don't see why he _always_ has to tag along any time we do anything." His eyes looked away from her and a vague hint of pink tinged his cheeks. "Why can't it ever be just the two of us?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, ignoring that her heart was pumping a few extra beats per minute. "It's just the two of us right now, isn't it?"

Koutarou frowned. "Checking test results doesn't count."

"Oh don't pout like that," she said through smiling lips. "I think Akaba is a good influence on you. He's calm and cool and he balances your personality well. And he's very kind. Don't forget that he's the one who recommended you for the all-star Japanese team."

"Cool? Kind? If you think Akaba is so great then maybe you should just go out with him." His voice was thick with sarcasm and Julie didn't feel like reinforcing it, so she started to walk away. "Wait!" he called after her. "You do know I was kidding, right? Don't go out with Akaba!"

She didn't slow down simply because she knew his long legs would catch up with her quickly enough. "You're so strange," she chuckled when he reached her side and adjusted his pace to match hers.

That he could still complain about Akaba gave her hope that he would be back to normal in no time.

…

"Blue Monday?" Even without looking at his face, Julie could tell that Koutarou's nose was scrunched up as he nasally read the name of the bar.

"It's got a 1980s theme," she said, her own voice laced with excitement. Even if her tastes strayed more towards the 70s, this place was still a potential goldmine for fashion inspiration. "Let's just go inside. I'm sure he's already waiting."

"That doesn't make it seem more appealing," Koutarou grumbled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

Julie had to tug him by the elbow to get him through the door. She knew this outing would do him good, even if he didn't realize it yet himself.

The scene inside was like one of her most deliciously campy dreams come to life. Brilliant beams of multi-colored light danced across the floor and up the walls, illuminating vintage posters of Madonna and Duran Duran.

Best of all, though, was vast panoply of retro fashions on both employees and patrons: legwarmers, stonewashed jeans, rubber jewelry, and band t-shirts from every decade that indicated that the bar's music selection was not limited to the 1980s.

This was a prospective fashion designer's heaven. But she couldn't forget why she was here.

"Look at this place! It's amazing! Don't you think, Koutarou?" She looked up at him and was pleased to see his eyes were as wide as hers. It was the perfect setting for distraction.

" _Smart _light display. You'd think we woulda heard about a place like this opening so close to…" His wonderment was abruptly extinguished by the appearance of a familiar mop of red hair.

"Hey Julie, Koutarou," Akaba greeted. Paired with a faded Judas Priest t-shirt, he wore a characteristically cool smile and Koutarou chaffed visibly under its glow.

"Where's your stupid guitar?" he sneered.

"Left it at home," Akaba casually replied. "And your comb?"

With an aggressive snort, Koutarou whipped a collapsible comb from the back pocket of his jeans and preened furiously. All Julie could do was rake her fingers down her face at the pathetic display. She knew that all boys were a little bit strange, but the two she had become attached to were downright ridiculous.

"We're here to relax and have fun," she reminded. "Not to fight. Let's get ourselves a room and order some drinks."

Akaba shook his head. "I put our names on the list for a room, but they said the wait could be as long as an hour. This place just opened last week so it's really busy."

Koutarou reacted immediately. "Didja hear that, Julie? Too crowded, I guess we'll have to go someplace else." His hand reached for hers and grasped it tightly.

"Well the good news is that I got us on the list about thirty minutes ago," Akaba informed with just a trace of smugness on his curled lips. "So the wait won't be too long. In the meantime, I managed to find an empty booth in the main room where we can sit. Shall I show you the way?" Although he was talking to both of them, his smile was aimed at Julie.

"Sounds good," she chirped, but as she started to follow Akaba she found herself towing an anchor. "Okay Koutarou, you either have to let go of my hand or stop dragging your feet."

He chose the latter, moving his legs and leaving his hand where it was. And for some reason, that made her happy. It must be the fact that he wasn't fighting too hard against her attempts to cheer him up. It had nothing to do with how warm his fingers felt coiled around hers.

The booth was in the very back of a huge auditorium, the furthest possible seats from the stage. Akaba smiled apologetically at Julie. "Sorry about the poor location. It was the only spot available."

"It's fine," she said, sitting down on the red leather upholstery. One hand patted the empty space to her right. " Have a seat, Koutarou. After all, we're here to support you."

The way he fell to the bench, as if all his bones had momentarily vanished, indicated that her statement may have sounded a bit too much like pity. "I wish I was old enough to order alcohol," he groaned.

"You don't need that," said Akaba, who now occupied the space to Julie's left. "You just need to readjust your tempo, try approaching your study methods in three-four time."

"Music has got nothing to do with it!" Koutarou snarled.

Akaba didn't blink or flinch, cool as ever. "How about going to cram school?" he asked. "Or hiring a home tutor?"

The corners of Koutarou's lips pulled down into a dramatic scowl. "You're the expert, huh, Mr. Got-into-every-school-he-applied-to-and-gets-to-play-college-football-but-still-is-always-strumming-his-stupid-guitar-Akaba?"

"Is that my new nickname?" Akaba asked with a cocked eyebrow. "I wasn't trying to lecture you. It was just a suggestion. I don't know the reason why you didn't pass your tests."

"Well I don't know either," Koutarou huffed. "I'm _smart_. I studied hard. Tell him how hard I studied, Julie!"

Her thighs shifted uneasily on the red leather. The whole purpose of this activity was to get his mind off entrance exams. "You did," she said. "You studied very hard. But do you really want to dwell on it? You'll have lots of time to prepare for next year, so you shouldn't worry about it right now."

She watched as Koutarou's knitted eyebrows smoothed out and his shoulders slumped.

"I just don't get it," he sighed. "I don't get how I could have failed every single test I took. They weren't even top-tier schools. It's just so… so…" Frustration was raising the pitch and volume of his voice. The fingers of both his hands forked through and yanked his spiky black tresses. "What did I do wrong?"

The answer to his query was an itch in Julie's throat, too low to be relieved by coughing. She didn't want to go into an explanation of what he did wrong without preparation. But seeing him on the verge of tearing out such a fine head of hair left her no other choice.

"Koutarou," she said as delicately as possible. She even reached over and touched his arm very lightly, ensuring that she had his full attention.

"Yeah?" he said softly, almost smiling as his eyes met hers.

"I think I might have an idea why you didn't pass your entrance exams." She chose her words carefully. "You are intelligent. There's no doubt about that. But for some reason, you kind of lose your cool when performing under pressure. Except when in involves kicks, of course."

Clearly puzzled, he wrinkled his nose. "What do you mean _lose my cool_?"

Julie squirmed in her seat again, eyes darting over to Akaba in a bid for help. But of course he wouldn't know what she was trying to say. He hadn't been Koutarou's friend nearly as long as she had and hadn't seen the full breadth of his behavior off of the football field.

"Well, it's what a lot of people call 'performance anxiety,'" she explained. "Whenever you have to do something that you know really matters, your brain gets totally derailed as soon as you make one mistake and you start acting erratically. Do you remember our third grade play?"

He thought about it for a moment and a proud smile leapt onto his face. "Peter Pan, right? I was the lead and you were Tinkerbell. Very _smart_ casting! I owned that role."

"Are you kidding?" she asked, mouth stretched open in an incredulous grimace. "You forgot one of your lines and with everyone watching you and waiting you kind of…" The memory made her wince. "You freaked out and started kicking over all the scenery."

Koutarou looked at her as if she were a crazy woman. "That never happened," he asserted.

"Yes, it did," she said adamantly. "You destroyed Neverland! You kicked Wendy in the face! See, this is the other thing. You don't even notice that you are freaking out. In your mind, everything went smoothly, when really it was a disaster. Who knows what went on when you were taking that test?"

His lips tightened and his eyebrows twitched slightly as he silently processed what she had just said. It was hard to tell if it was sinking in or if he was still in denial. That brain of his certainly worked in mysterious ways.

"I still don't get it," he finally said, giving Julie the tiring impression that she'd have to explain it all again. "How can I have such dramatic overreactions to performance anxiety and not even realize it?"

"The human brain is a very complex organ," Akaba answered quite intellectually, giving his chin a thoughtful scratch to complete the image. "It's possible that yours isn't fully conscious when you have an episode, like people who sleepwalk. Or maybe it just represses the memory of the behavior as soon as it's finished."

"Well gee, 'professor,'" Koutarou snorted. "If you know so much about my brain, how about telling me how to fix it?"

Akaba drew in a slow breath through his teeth and ruffled the back of his red head. "Those were just a couple of my theories. I can't make any conclusions without sufficient data. I've never even seen your so-called performance anxiety."

"He doesn't get it when he's playing football," Julie injected. "Only things he subconsciously doesn't feel confident about, college entrance exams, school plays, singing…"

A loud nasal sound came from Koutarou. "I never sing," he said snootily.

There was a single silent second, a moment when Julie's and Akaba's eyes locked and she somehow knew exactly what he was thinking, exactly what he was about to suggest. Hoping that this momentary mind connection went both ways, she tried to beam her thoughts to him.

_Don't say it. Don't encourage him. Please, just don't._

But Akaba didn't get the message and turned towards Koutarou. "You could sing now," he told him unworriedly. "We are in a karaoke bar after all. Then I could see for myself just what happens when you get nervous."

"But you don't have to!" Julie added with a pleading edge in her voice. "You've had a rough day, Koutarou. And you don't have to make it worse by embarrassing yourself in front of all these people."

For a moment he just looked stunned. Then he looked angry, brows furrowed and teeth bared. "So you just assume I'll embarrass myself?" he said. "Or are you afraid I'll embarrass you? I'm not even sure I believe what you said about my performance under pressure. After all, I don't remember ever freaking out."

"Well I don't _know_ that you'll act crazy if you try to sing," she responded. "But do you really want to take the risk? There has to be a better way to test this theory." As she spoke, she stared at his face and she noticed something hiding under his veil of anger. Koutarou was hurt by her lack of faith in him. "Go ahead and sing if you want," she sighed, gently smiling. "If you say you'll do fine then I believe you."

All evidence of negative emotion evaporated from his face as soon as she said it. "You really do?"

"Of course," she answered.

"Tell you what," Akaba calmly offered. "I've got my camera with me, so if you'd like I can record your performance, and if you go crazy you can see it for yourself."

"And if I don't, well then it must mean that those un-_smart_ entrance exams were rigged against me," Koutarou declared with a wide grin.

Rather than pointing out the absurdity of her friend's logic, Julie just slapped him (not too hard) on the shoulder. "Knock 'em dead, Koutarou."

With a stalwart expression on his face, he stood, and as he made his move towards the stage, Akaba slipped a 1000-yen note into his hand. "Just to ensure that you'll get to go next," was the explanation. "And remember, it has to be a song you aren't too familiar with."

Julie swallowed anxiously as she watched Koutarou hand the cash to the manager with no subtlety at all. From the looks of it, though, the bribe worked. The manager smiled and winked at him, and then typed something into the computer that controlled the play list.

"Why do you look so worried?" Akaba asked her. "Didn't you say that you believe in him?"

"I do," she insisted, though her fidgeting and reluctance to make eye contact belied her true feelings. "Well, I really, _really_ want to believe in him. He's a good guy, with a good heart…"

"But?" Akaba urged.

"But he's never sung one note in his life," she continued. "He may not remember our third grade play, but I do. I remember how the other kids said mean things behind his back after that, that he was a weirdo and an idiot. This place is packed and I don't want all these people to think those kinds of things about Koutarou when that's not what he's really like."

Akaba flashed an enigmatic smile. "Could it be that you have a soft spot for the young kicking ace?"

Heat flooded her cheeks. "No! He's my friend, just like _you_ are my friend. I've just known him longer than anyone else so I 'get him' better than most people do. He still manages to surprise me sometimes, though."

After the girl on stage belted out the last refrain of _Don't Stop Believin'_ in broken English, a voice from the speakers announced the next song. "And now, singing _Heat of the Moment_, Sasaki Koutarou!"

Julie held her breath as Koutarou stepped onto the stage and picked up the microphone. He certainly looked the part of a rock star: tight black jeans sheathing those long legs, dark eyes and wild hair, top three buttons of his shirt undone to reveal that Route 66 necklace dangling over bare flesh.

"You're staring," Akaba whispered coyly.

"Am not," she denied. Of course, it didn't matter how good he looked on stage if he couldn't sing, and she feared what he might do if his performance hit a snag.

The music came on and Koutarou took a breath (even though Julie still couldn't). His lips slid apart and sound came out.

"I never meant to be so bad to you  
One thing I said that I would never do  
One look from you and I would fall from grace  
And that would wipe this smile right from my face…"

The voice he produced was unlike anything Julie had ever heard before, rich and smooth, like coffee-flavored ice cream, and as intoxicating as liquor. Her heart galloped as he made love to the microphone. How did she not know about this? How had he never sung before now?

"Oh my god," Akaba uttered in her ear. The way he said it indicated a shock equal to her own, but she didn't dare shift her gaze to confirm it. "There's no way he's never sung before. Nobody could have that kind of natural talent. He's phenomenal."

"Are you recording?" Julie asked without taking her eyes off Koutarou.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm going to try to get a closer shot though." He stood up and crossed in front of her and she followed.

"I'm coming too." Since the moment the first note was birthed from his lips she had been fighting the urge to move closer, like a moth to a street lamp. Now she abandoned all resistance.

There was surprisingly little standing room close to the stage, as it seemed quite a few other people (mostly young girls) had acted quicker on the same impulse that she had. Even the waitresses, still carrying their trays of drinks, had stopped in their tracks to listen.

They were a captive audience.

"And now you find yourself in 82  
The disco hotspots hold no charm for you  
You can't concern yourself with bigger things  
You catch the pearl and ride the dragon's wings…"

And yet Julie couldn't shake this selfish feeling that he was singing just to her. Maybe every girl in there felt the same way. It was the magic spell that Koutarou's voice cast. Then suddenly his eyes met hers right as he launched into the chorus again and her breath trembled.

"It was the heat of the moment  
Telling me what your… smart…"

Just like that, the spell was broken. All it took was for him to say 'smart' when the lyric was 'heart' and he was completely derailed.

He stood paralyzed, mouth gaping like a fish as the music continued to play without his voice. White was visible all around his grey irises.

_Just keep singing_, Julie silently mouthed. _You're okay._

Koutarou nodded and opened his mouth again, but what came out was anything but beautiful singing. "HEY EVERYBODY!" he shouted so loud it filled the auditorium. "CHECK OUT THIS _SMART_ KICK!"

"Oh dear god," muttered Akaba, dropping his forehead into his palm. "At least I'm getting it on my camera so we can show him when he doesn't believe us." As soon as he said it, the karaoke microphone hurtled like a comet into his camera, knocking it to the floor and smashing it to bits. Koutarou's 'smart' kick was a punt.

While Akaba stooped to pick up the wreckage of his digital camera, Julie scrambled through the jeering crowd and onto the stage, desperate to protect her friend's dignity. Getting close to him would be a feat, though, as he was still kicking the air all around him and yelling like a howler monkey.

"Koutarou," she said in a calm voice from a safe distance. "Koutarou, the song is over. It's time for you to get off the stage." Her words did nothing to thwart his flailing, so she reached out and gently touched his arm as she said his name one last time. "Koutarou?"

Like the waking snap of a hypnotist's fingers, Julie's touch brought him back to reality. "Huh? Is the song over already?"

"It's over," she assured him. "Please come outside with me. I need some fresh air." Before he had a chance to agree to it, she grabbed his wrist and led him out of the karaoke bar as fast as she could. The less of the audience's commentary he overheard, the better.

Akaba was already waiting when they reached the sunlight.

"Hey what gives?" Koutarou whined, twisting out of Julie's grip. "Why'd you pull me out of there? I was on fire! And why is _he_ out here?"

"How much of your performance do you actually remember?" Akaba asked.

"All of it," Koutarou answered. He'd just retrieved his trusty comb and was raking it through his hair. "I was totally _smart_ right to the end, and you have the proof stored on your camera."

Akaba held his handful of mechanical junk in front of Koutarou's face. "You kicked the microphone into it."

"No way!" Koutarou stammered. "You mean… I went ballistic?" On his face was a mix of shock and disappointment and embarrassment that was barely concealed.

It made Julie's chest twinge. "If it makes you feel better," she said with a tender smile, "You were incredible up until the part where you freaked out royally."

"Really?" A hopeful grin spread across his face.

She beamed back at him. "Really. You have an amazing voice."

"You definitely have talent," Akaba added. "I can't believe I'm going to say this but… Koutarou, do you think you might be interested in singing with my band?'

"Why would I want to be in a band with you and your stupid guitar?' he snorted. "Definitely not a _smart_ move."

"I think it's a good idea," said Julie. "It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful voice. And besides that, being in a band is sexy."

"I'll do it." His answer punctuated her sentence.

Akaba smiled and nodded coolly. "Excellent. Now we just have to figure out what to do about your performance anxiety."

Koutarou blinked innocently. "What performance anxiety?"

To be continued…


	2. Fated to Pretend

Free Talk- Chapter 2! As always, I am very concerned that it is too boring and am keeping my fingers crossed in hope that people like it. The story will get more exciting once the band gets their big break. Please tell me what you think!

**Koutarou Star  
**By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 2: Fated to Pretend

* * *

The stereo in the corner of Red Threads secondhand clothing store was spitting out old Japanese rock, but Julie ignored it. She was humming that silly song that Koutarou sang at the karaoke bar two weeks ago as she carefully folded t-shirts for a display.

"Hey Sawai," her coworker, a girl with curled hair and oversized glasses, whispered excitedly in her ear. "Check out the five-star hottie that just walked through the door."

Eagerly, Julie looked up from her work expecting, well, she wasn't sure who, but she was still surprised when she recognized the visitor. "Hey Akaba, welcome to Red Threads," she greeted genially.

"Wait, you know him?" her baffled colleague uttered.

"Yeah Yamaki, he's my friend from high school," she answered as if it were no big deal (because to her, it wasn't).

Yamaki rolled back her eyes and sighed. "So unfair. This one is even hotter than your friend who's always combing his hair. Just so unfair." She sighed again and went to help another customer check out.

"Er, sorry about that," Julie said to Akaba. "Yamaki is a little bit boy-crazy. So, uh, is this your first time here? Is there anything I can help you find?"

A very slight hint of amusement was written on his composed features. "I've bought a few band t-shirts here before, but now that one of my friends is an employee I may have to stop by more often."

"That would make my female coworkers happy," she chuckled. Her eyes danced around the store, searching for something. "So did Koutarou come with you? You guys had practice today, right?"

Akaba pulled off his tinted glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose with two fingertips. A groan almost too quiet to hear left his throat. "No practice today. Our drummer needs a new drumhead for his bass and all of us felt like we needed a break."

There was no mystery to his story. "He put his foot through the bass drum?" Julie moaned. "He can't even rehearse without having a meltdown."

"Not exactly," Akaba explained. "He did well when it was just the band. All the other members agree that his voice is incredible, and he actually has a pretty wide vocal range, so he's versatile. But when the other guys invited some friends to come watch…"

"He flipped," she finished, shaking her head sadly. "Oh, Koutarou… Let me guess, he has no memory of the event."

"None whatsoever," Akaba answered. His hands were busy rifling through the stack of shirts she'd just folded. "Say, do you have any shirts for The Who or Led Zeppelin?"

Julie responded to his sudden subject change with confused blinks and a soft, "Huh?"

"I'm just trying to help you look busy," he said breezily. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for talking to me when you're supposed to be working. So what time do they let you out of here?"

She took a quick glance at her wristwatch. "In ten more minutes. Can you wait?"

"Oh, you shouldn't have to make such a cute guy wait," said Yamaki, who had returned undetected and sidled next to Julie with a suggestive smirk. "As your supervisor I'm giving you permission, no, giving _an order_ to leave early."

"You know it's not very ethical to give people special treatment just because they're friends with boys," Julie said, but her coworker had already scuttled out of listening range. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," she sighed to Akaba. "Like I said, totally boy-crazy."

…

Any time it was just her and Akaba, walking side-by-side in the city and talking comfortably, Julie couldn't help feeling like she was inside someone else's life. It was just so calm and ordinary when Koutarou wasn't with them.

Today, as was often the case when it just the two of them, Koutarou still managed to be the star of their conversation without being present.

"So do you have any ideas?" Julie asked as they strolled the Shibuya sidewalk.

"One," he said. "But I still think medical technology is years away from supporting brain transplants."

For just a fraction of a second, Julie reacted with shock and almost gasped before looking up at Akaba's joking smile. "Very funny," she snickered. "But you know you wouldn't really want that. If you replaced his brain, Koutarou wouldn't be Koutarou."

"I'm not saying he should have the whole thing replaced," he quipped. "Just the obnoxious parts."

"Aw, he's not that bad," she said.

Next to her, Akaba's footsteps slowed and she glanced up to find him looking curiously down at her. "There's really nothing about Koutarou's personality you would want to change?" he asked.

The question triggered a memory montage to play in Julie's head. Nine-year old Koutarou stood up on the top of the schoolyard slide, proud as a king, and declared himself the best kicker in all the third grade. An older version placed a football on a tee then paused to flick open a comb and rake it through his hair as he spoke to her with foolish hope: "How about if I make this kick, you'll go out on a date with me?"

Julie pressed her fingertips against her lips to keep from laughing too loudly. Then her giggles suddenly turned into a cringe as her brain replayed Koutarou's microphone dropkick.

"I don't know about changing his personality," she said urgently. "But we have to do something about his performance problem. And not just so he can share his voice with people. If he can't find a way to pass his exams…"

Her voice trailed off and Akaba's took over. "I know what you mean. He's already going to be at least one year behind us."

They passed the statue of Hachiko, where schoolgirls and boys waited for their teenage friends to meet them. It left a sharp feeling in Julie's stomach that she tried to sooth with swallowing. "Even if he does get in somewhere next year, we'll still be going to three different schools. With or without anxiety, I don't think he'll qualify for the same college as you."

"Maybe not," Akaba mused. "But I wouldn't put it past him to follow you into the fashion industry."

Any attempt not to laugh at that mental image of Koutarou at fashion design school, throwing the word 'smart' at his creations like confetti, was futile. "Oh Koutarou," she sighed. "What are we going to do with him?"

Akaba shook his red head. "When I offered a theory that his problem might be a result of subconscious insecurity he spat on me."

"I think trying to psychoanalyze Koutarou is a lost cause," Julie said.

"Fuu, for me it definitely is," he replied. "But perhaps not for you. You've said more than once that you 'get him' better than most people do."

Julie half smirked. "I get him just enough to know he won't buy into a psychological explanation. He's more likely to believe it has something to do with the phase of the moon on the night he was born."

"Is he really that superstitious?" asked Akaba.

"Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration," she admitted. "But he does tend to reject explanations that rely on data and theory. And he mistakes coincidences with 'signs' all the time. His emotions just overwhelm his intellect, the exact opposite of you."

Akaba's mellowed gait came to a complete stop and she paused next to him, blurting out an apology. "I didn't mean that you don't have emotions, I just meant…" Looking up to examine his face, she found him not angry or hurt, but apparently deep in thought and demonstrating the very statement she worried had offended him.

"You're right," he said contemplatively. "I've been going about this all wrong, trying to push an intellectual fix for an emotional problem. The solution to Koutarou's problem will have to appeal to his emotionality."

"Now we just have to figure out what that solution is." As soon as Julie said it, her purse started humming. "That's my phone vibrating," she said as one hand dove into the bag to fish it out. "It's my sister. Oi! And no wonder! It's already six and I'm supposed to bring home dinner."

She flipped open the phone and was greeted with a haughty squeak. _"Julie where are you?"_

"Calm down, Haru, I'm on my way. Yes, I _do_ know what time it is. You still want noodles? Okay, go ahead and call it in and I'll pick it up on the way home. Bye"

"I guess we'll have to reschedule this conversation for later," Akaba said after she closed the phone. He almost sounded disappointed.

"Yeah," Julie answered. "My little sister Harumi is more than a little impatient when it's soba night. But I will be thinking about Koutarou all night."

Akaba gave her an eyebrow raise and his subtlest smirk. "All night long, eh?"

A fierce blush, so hot she could feel it, invaded Julie's cheeks. "I meant I'll think about his problem," she stammered. "And not _all_ night long."

"Relax Jewels, I'm just giving you a hard time," he said calmly. "So I'll catch you later?"

"Yeah," she replied with an enthusiastic nod. "Hey, you guys have to hold a rehearsal on a day I'm not working. I _still_ haven't heard you make music together."

"Are you working tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nope," she chirped. "Is that an invitation?"

"One o'clock," he said, placing his glasses back on and pushing them up his nose. "My house. Come to the basement door in back."

Julie grinned. "I'll be there." Then she patted Akaba's arm and dashed off towards Harumi's favorite noodle shop.

…

After cold soba and a hot bath, Julie stretched out on her bed and continued her intense contemplation of the Koutarou conundrum. But silence wasn't very conducive to inspiration. What she needed was music.

Rather than reaching for her trusty MP3 player, she pulled open the deepest drawer in her desk and dug out her old CD player. She popped it open to make sure the disc she wanted was still inside and put the huge headphones over her ears. Then she grabbed her sketchbook and colored pencils and pressed play.

"_KICK the boredom,  
sprain an ankle,  
get SHOCKED_

_KICK an empty can,  
beer spills out,  
get SHOCKED_

_KICK a rock,  
hit a yakuza,  
get SHOT_

_Coolly burn to cinders,  
don't mind the heat_

_KICK the ball through the uprights,  
HAT TRICK"_

If her classmates from high school had known that she not only kept her copy of _KICK SHOCK_, but actually listened to it, they would have laughed for weeks. She had listened to it every evening since the day she heard Koutarou sing, every time imagining how it would sound in his own angelic voice.

But that voice was locked up in chains of neurosis. Akaba's advice repeated over and over in her head. Appeal to his emotionality. Appeal to his emotionality.

_I could tell him that if he performs for a live audience without messing up I'll go out with him_, she thought. Even though she was alone and it was in her head, she still felt a flush of embarrassment. Julie couldn't do that to him. The goal was to appeal to his emotionality, not to exploit it.

Her fingers flipped through the stiff pages of her sketchbook, the big one she doodled all her fashion ideas in, in the hopes that one kind of creativity might lead to another. Unfortunately, every single page was filled, which made sense since she'd had it since freshmen year.

Finally she found one page that was mostly empty, just a leaf she must have liked pressed under clear tape in one corner. There was a small scrawl of writing that wasn't her own neat curls next to it.

For good luck!

It was Koutarou's handwriting, and on second glance, the leaf was actually a four-leaf clover.

Now she remembered, second year when she was so nervous about their looming English midterm, he had spent an hour on his hands and knees, searching the patch of clover in front of Bando for a lucky four-leafer.

_Silly Koutarou, should have kept it for himself. He's the one that needs a lucky charm._

"A lucky charm!" she uttered out loud as if it had been obvious all along. It was a shot in the dark, but it just might work. No ordinary lucky charm would do of course. She would have to give him the ultimate lucky charm, an object so special that he would have utmost faith in its magical properties.

Immediately, Julie got off her bed and went straight to her trunk of sewing supplies. When she was this excited about a project she could stay up all night working on it without getting tired.

Completing Koutarou's good luck charm didn't take quite that long, just until five in the morning.

She woke up late in the morning, crease marks on her face, hair a disheveled halo of artificial blue. At least there was enough time to fix up her appearance and stop by Koutarou's before his practice.

He'd lived in the same apartment building as her (two floors up and two doors down) since they were in the second grade. Her showing up outside his door unannounced was nothing out of the ordinary. She pressed the doorbell and heard it chime inside the Sasaki household, followed by a scramble of bare feet and a familiar but garbled voice.

"I'b gumming!"

The door flung inward to reveal Koutarou in black sweatpants and a white undershirt, a toothbrush handle sticking out from the corner of his foamy lips. As soon as he saw who his visitor was, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Julie!" he said delightedly, opening his mouth so wide that the toothbrush fell out and left a minty white smear down his pants before hitting the floor. He didn't even seem to care. "Wanna come in?"

"Thanks," she said, stepping gingerly over the threshold.

Koutarou had already disappeared somewhere.

"Where'd you go?" she called, and a moment later he reappeared in jeans and a bowling shirt with his face washed and a comb in his hand.

"So what brings you?" he asked eagerly. "Man, it's been forever since you stopped by."

Julie muffled a giggle behind her fingers. "More like two weeks. And it's not like you didn't see me during that time. You come to bug me at work almost every day."

"I still missed the pop-ins," he said. Then he suddenly frowned and bopped his forehead with the ball of his hand. "Un-_smart_! I can't hang out because the band is practicing today. Oh! Unless… Julie, you wanna come watch me sing?"

"I was already planning to," she answered. "Akaba invited me." Koutarou's face puckered at her mention of that name, but before he progressed to full-blown sulk mode, she added, "I'm coming for _both_ of you. And you are the only one I brought a special present for."

"A present?" he asked, excitement fully restored.

She bobbed her chin and reached into her purse. "It's an extremely special present that I wouldn't entrust to anyone else but you." From her purse she retrieved a small, black velvet pouch.

Koutarou's eyes sparkled like a child's as she pulled open the drawstring. "Ooh! Is it jewelry? A necklace? A ring?"

"Okay, hold out your arm," Julie said.

"Ah, a bracelet!" he exclaimed, thrusting his wrist in front of her. "Should I close my eyes?"

"Only if you want to," she clucked, giving him an odd look. He squeezed them shut and she carefully fastened the bracelet. His skin was softer than she expected. "Alright, you can open your eyes."

Grey eyes sprang open to look at his gift, but his brow scrunched in confusion as soon as he saw it. "No gold, or silver, or diamonds? I've never seen a bracelet like this."

"That's because it's the only one in the whole world," said Julie.

It was stitched and woven, rather than smelted and faceted, made from meticulously embroidered pieces of blue suede that were strung together with braided golden-brown threads.

"It's kind of _smart_," Koutarou said thoughtfully as he turned his wrist to look at the bracelet from every angle.

"I haven't even told you the best part," Julie said. She could barely contain her zeal to tell the item's tale. "The previous owner of that bracelet... was Elvis."

A second of silence passed before Koutarou processed the news and gasped in utter shock. "Elvis Presley? The King of rock and roll? No way! I don't believe it! How… how did you get this?"

"Someone brought it in to the store," she explained. "A man who used to be a famous singer gave it to me to sell. He said the King gave it to him after a concert here in Tokyo when he was just a boy, and that it had always brought him good luck while singing on stage."

Koutarou's jaw was hanging open. "Why would anyone give away something so priceless?"

Julie shrugged. "The guy said it was time for someone else to benefit from it. I know what you mean, though. At first I didn't believe him at all, until I did some research and found this." She pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse and handed it to him.

"That's a photo of Elvis! And he's wearing the bracelet!" He was absolutely giddy. "This has got to be worth tens of thousands of yen. Are you really sure you want to give it to me?"

"I'm sure. Elvis' lucky bracelet should belong to a fellow rock singer." Alongside her elation that Koutarou believed her story, Julie felt a tiny prickle of guilt. There was nothing cruel about this charade, but she still didn't feel totally at ease lying to her oldest friend.

"Hey Julie," he said softly, lightly touching her shoulder with one hand. "Thank you. Now come and watch me rock!"

…

Koutarou's plucky mood persisted for the entire walk to Akaba's house and didn't dissipate when that cool face and crown of red hair appeared in the door to let them in.

"Hey Jewels," Akaba greeted. "And I see you came with the spaz. Come on in."

"Spaz this!" Koutarou trumpeted, waving his wrist mere centimeters in front of Akaba's eyes as he passed through the door. "Pretty _smart_, eh?"

Akaba pulled his head back slightly and blinked his eyes. "I didn't even see it. What was that?"

An expression of smug pride was plastered on Koutarou's face. "This is Elvis Presley's lucky bracelet. And it now belongs to me."

Before responding, Akaba's eyes surreptitiously darted to Julie and she gave an almost imperceptible nod to signal him to play along. "Wow, how'd you get your hands on something like that?" Even when he played impressed he sounded nonchalant.

"I happen to have a connection in the vintage clothing business," Koutarou said.

"Fuu, I almost forgot," said Akaba. "Once Sakai gets here, we'll warm up with _Hound Dog_ and see if you can use that bracelet to channel the King."

"Wait, you mean Sakai from the football team?" Julie asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's our drummer," Koutarou said. "Didn't I tell you? And the bassist is a Spider, too."

Taking a second survey of the Akaba basement, she noticed a familiar stocky boy lifting an electric bass guitar from its case. He had been the captain of the kick team. "Wow, so you're all ex-Spiders."

Koutarou beamed. "That's right. And that's why the band is called Daddy Long Legs. You know, like those spiders with the long legs."

"And you're a Spider with long legs, too," she said. "I get it."

Sakai arrived and put on a look of trepidation as soon as he saw Koutarou. "I brought my girlfriend," he said, scratching his blond shag. "And I see Sawai is here too. Think you can stay calm today?"

"Hey, I am made of calm," Koutarou stated. "Now let's rock!"

Julie sat down on the carpet next to Sakai's girlfriend, her heart fluttering to the sound of Akaba tuning his guitar. With no introduction, the song just burst into life from the instruments and from Koutarou's lungs.

_"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,  
cryin' all the time."_

Two weeks of trying to replay his voice in her head was not enough to prepare her for the real thing. And having a real band rather than a karaoke machine just made it ten times more awesome. Akaba's incredible skill on guitar was likewise amplified by Koutarou's voice.

_"You ain't never caught a rabbit  
and you ain't no friend of mine."_

The last line poured from his lips and the musicians wrapped up the song. It was perfect.

Everyone in the room fell dead silence for a moment and then Akaba yelled out, "_Suspicious Minds_." So they moved on to the next song, nobody saying a word about Koutarou's success.

There was triumph in the air, though. Julie could feel it, from the band members and in her own heart. They played song after song, moving from Elvis to the Beatles to the Rolling Stones. Akaba's little sister came down and so did his mother, but no matter how big the audience grew, Koutarou never faltered.

After a certain number of songs, once their faces started to glisten with perspiration, the band decided to take a break and Julie leapt to her feet. Without thinking about it, she went straight to Koutarou. "That was incredible. You guys sounded great."

"I was _smart_, right?" he asked.

"Totally smart." She couldn't stop smiling, couldn't slow her racing heart. "I think Daddy Long Legs should record a single."

Akaba, who was just lifting his guitar strap off over his head, looked at her. "Now that we've worked out the last, er, kink, recording would logically be the next step. But we need a hit song of our own."

A tune was playing in the background of Julie's brain, something familiar. She twisted a finger in her blue hair, as if she could reel the melody out of her head. Ah! She had it. "How about _KICK SHOCK_?"

All of the band members, except Akaba, seemed to deflate slightly at the suggestion. "You mean that weird theme song for Sasaki that the principal issued?" Sakai asked, lips pulled back in distaste.

Koutarou's cheeks were pink with embarrassment. "The guys don't want to play that song," he said. "And I'd feel kind of silly singing it."

Akaba alone looked actually interested in the idea, scratching the tip of his chin as he carefully considered it. "You know what, I think the song has potential. The only reason it's uncool is because it hasn't gotten a decent treatment."

"The tune is very catchy," Julie said, thrilled that one person was of the same mind as her.

"And the lyrics aren't bad either," Akaba added. "They'll sound great coming from Koutarou's pipes. As de facto leader of Daddy Long Legs, I say we should at least give it a try."

Sakai sighed cautiously. "You know we all trust your judgment, Akaba. If you say the song could be great, we're with you all the way."

"I'll start working on an arrangement," Akaba said. "In the mean time we should try to perform more in front of live audiences, just to make sure today's success wasn't a fluke. Think you're up to it, Koutarou?"

Koutarou was utterly glowing. "Are you kidding? Right now I feel like I could do anything! And I owe it all to one person." He flashed Julie a gentle smile that filled her belly with hot chocolate warmth. Then his eyes looked up towards the heavens. "Thank you, Elvis."

Julie just shook her head and sighed. "Silly Koutarou."

To be continued…


	3. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

Free Talk- Happy New Year! I'm going to keep writing this story in 2009, even if it's not very popular. Thank you to those are reading it. Please tell me what you think.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 3: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

* * *

Peach-colored morning reached through Julie's bedroom window and stroked her cheek, beckoning her gently back to the waking world. This was the way to rise. Forgoing that obnoxious alarm clock was definitely one of her favorite aspects of having a day off and today was the first she'd had in a long time.

Since entering college to study fashion design, every day that wasn't filled with classes was filled with work at Red Threads, and though she had managed to fatten her savings account in the last year, she'd had painfully little time with her two best friends, the rock stars.

Well, not quite stars, actually. More like one-hit wonders at this stage.

But this was going to be their summer, Julie could feel it like hot embers in her chest, the same feeling she used to get before the Spiders took the field. With the three collegiate members starting summer vacation, the conditions were prime for Daddy Long Legs to give birth to the full-length album that was incubating in Ababa's head.

She wanted to do everything she could to help them. Eventually. According to the clock on her bedside table, it was eight-thirty. She could easily get away with spending another half-hour just relaxing in bed with some fashion mags.

_Bing-BONG!_

The doorbell pealed once but Julie ignored it, licked a finger and turned the page of her magazine.

_Bing-BONG-Bing-BONG-Bing-BONG-Bing-BONG-Bing-BONG!!!_

Only one person in the world rang her doorbell so insistently. So with a lighthearted sigh she stripped back her down comforter and swung her feet to the floor. Hopefully, Harumi was already up and about and could let him in while she got dressed.

Sure enough, the ring was chased by the sound of socks padding on hardwood and the opening squeak of the door. "Hey Julie, the doofus is here to see you!" her little sister hollered shortly after.

Koutarou's voice barked back. "Who's the doofus, pipsqueak?"

Knowing it wouldn't be the best idea to leave those two bickering while she chose an ensemble, Julie just tugged on a pair of bellbottom jeans and the first t-shirt she could grab. Then she gave her hair (still glossy short and blue) a quick brush and left her bedroom.

Out in the living room, Koutarou and Harumi were a meter apart, still squabbling about whether or not he was a doofus and she was a pipsqueak, and arguing what qualities defined each epithet. Neither seemed to notice that Julie had emerged from her room.

"Stop fighting, you two," she clucked.

Koutarou turned and smiled at her. "It was all in good fun, Julie. Besides, it was the _pipsqueak_ who started it." He gestured rudely with his thumb.

Julie rolled her eyes at him. "Harumi is fifteen, you're nineteen. You could at least _try_ to act grown up."

"But I'm a rock star," he said matter-of-factly. "And rock stars never grow up. Oh, that reminds me… Catch!"

"Huh?" She put her hands in front of her face just in time to catch the item he flung at her, a t-shirt. "A Daddy Long Legs shirt," she said delightedly upon unfolding it. "I guess that does bestow a bit of star status on you. When did they start selling these?"

"They haven't yet," he said. "You hold in your hands a premium piece of rock merchandise. We may not have a huge following now, but by the end of summer Daddy Long Legs is going to be a household name."

Julie examined his confident smile before responding. "Do you mean… the first album is going to be released sooner than expected?" There was excitement stitched into her voice.

"It's even better than that!" Koutarou said, elated. "Let me show you! Where is your computer?"

"It's in my room. I'll go…"

Before she could finish saying that she would go and get it, he grabbed her by the elbow and boldly marched right through her bedroom door. He spotted the laptop resting on her desk and immediately opened it and turned it on.

"You are not going to believe this!" He got onto the internet and clicked his way to Apple Computers' website. Then he selected a video clip from the menu and signaled for Julie to watch. "Look! Look!"

In the clip, a familiar-looking black silhouette danced with kicks and jumps over a brightly colored background to the jubilant strains of Daddy Long Legs' hit song.

"Is that you?" she asked breathlessly. "In an iPod commercial?"

Koutarou kept grinning as he shook his head. "No, no, they got a professional dancer that looks like me. But it is my voice. My voice! Kick Shock! On a real iPod commercial!"

They watched the video again and again, each viewing increasing Julie's beats per minute. It was so exhilarating to hear her friends' music playing in a major ad campaign. This was huge! But only after the fourth replay she noticed that something wasn't quite right.

"Koutarou, why haven't I seen this on TV?" she asked. "And why are we watching it on the English version of the website?"

He had his comb out by now and was casually grooming as he answered. "Well it's only playing in North America right now."

This was an odd twist. "Why only in North America?" she asked. "I didn't even know Japanese music was popular there."

"Neither did I," he told her. "But apparently the website Akaba set up for the band has been getting tons of traffic from the United States ever since it launched last year. You know, Americans love stuff from Japan. Sushi and Pikachu and now Daddy Long Legs! Pretty _smart_, huh?"

Even if the cautious, realistic side of her felt wary at his overflowing confidence, the buoyant, ever-dreaming girl within her cheered. "That's so awesome!" she said with a bright smile. "Things are really starting to come together for you guys." She paused and asked more cautiously, "So, how did the college entrance exams go this year? You never told me anything…"

"Exams?" he snorted, a cocky grin in place. "Why would I waste my time taking exams? I'm not going to college now that I'm on a career path."

Hearing his proclamation, realistic Julie slugged that stupid daydreaming Julie in the nose with all her might and took full control of the mouth. "Are you serious, Koutarou? No college? What if the rock star plan doesn't work out? What will you do for a job?"

Uh-oh. He had that childish sulky look on his face again, eyebrows angled down and creasing between them, lower jaw jutting. "Why do you assume the rock star plan won't work out?"

With a low, deep exhale, she flopped backwards onto her unmade bed. "Oh, Koutarou, Koutarou… Of course I don't assume it won't work. I just wish you had a backup plan in case…"

The mattress sank to her left as he sat down next to her and leaned back so they were laying side by side. "In case what?" he asked plainly.

Julie rolled her head towards him. He was already looking over at her, those grey eyes imploring her for an answer. "I dunno…" she said, sounding far more self-conscious than she wanted to. "You could get throat cancer and lose your voice forever."

"I could get brain cancer and die," he countered. "You can't be prepared for everything."

"Fair enough," she conceded. "But… What if you change your mind about being a rock star? The entire time you were in high school, all you wanted to do was play football and be the number one kicker. Now you never even mention football. You've traded one dream for another."

He shrugged as best he could while lying down. "People change, Julie. And I do still love football. Always will. But let's face it, professional sports just isn't a stable career choice."

"And the music industry is?" she squawked incredulously. "Show business is cruel, Koutarou! It changes people! Breaks them! And if that happened to you…!"

It suddenly occurred to Julie that both she and Koutarou had effortlessly shifted onto their sides and were now facing each other with their whole bodies. He had a funny little smirk on his lips.

"Haven't I demonstrated to you that a passionate spirit can't be broken?" he said. "As long as I've got passion, I'll just let it take me where it will. Planning ahead too much is not my style, un-_smart_."

"So I guess Akaba's sensibility hasn't rubbed off at all after a year in the band together," Julie chuckled nervously.

The mere mention of Akaba immediately brought a disgruntled scowl to Koutarou's face. "Don't compare me to that guy," he snorted. "Sure he's a great guitar player and all, but his long speeches about music theory are soooooo boring. And he keeps trying to make me learn to read sheet music."

Julie erupted in a fit giggles that she hid behind her hand. What was she worried about? The more things changed, the more Koutarou stayed the same. But at least he could admit now that Akaba was a talented musician.

His warm fingers touched her wrist and the laughter caught in her throat.

"You still cover your mouth when you laugh," he said, pulling her hand away. "Ever since fifth grade, when you got knocked to the blacktop with that kickball and chipped your front tooth."

"Yeah," she said. "It's been fixed for years, but I guess old habits die hard. I'm surprised you even remember."

Koutarou's digits were still wrapped around her wrist, making her feel awkward. Her eyes sought any target other than his face. She looked at his hand that held hers and at Elvis' bracelet encircling it. A finger from her free hand touched the soft blue suede.

"You're wearing the bracelet I gave you," she remarked quietly.

"Of course," he replied. "I only take it off when I go in the shower. It's my treasure."

A year had past and he still wore it, still treasured it. The dream of any designer, of course, was to have people know your name and recognize your creations. Yet, even though that bracelet was only important to him because he thought it had belonged to Elvis, she still felt happy to see it on him.

"You can let go of my arm now," she said. His fingers sprang open and she rubbed the ring of cool the loss of contact left around her wrist. "Thanks."

The room fell into near silence, nothing but the sound of their breathing filling the space between them (which seemed a whole lot smaller than it did when the conversation began). Koutarou's eyes never left her face and he had an oddly contented smile on his face. It made Julie's insides squirm like a puppy.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked her, and for reasons she couldn't explain, Julie blurted out the truth.

"I was just thinking that if this was a drama or a girls' comic, right now is when the guy would kiss the girl. The boy and girl would be a couple though, of course."

Koutarou's gaze narrowed intensely and he reached out to brush his knuckles against her cheek. Her heart was pounding like a drum. He leaned closer, eyelids lowering.

"_You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen!"_

"Ah! That's my cell phone!" Julie squeaked, scrambling up from the bed all flushed and flustered. She snatched up her phone and answered in a sheepish voice. "Hello? Oh, hey Akaba."

"Ugh, Akaba," groaned Koutarou, now sprawled over the entire surface of the bed.

Just looking at him made her imagination wander off to what might have happened if her phone hadn't rung and heat surged through her blood vessels. She turned around and tried to concentrate on Akaba's cool voice.

"So Jewels, what are you doing on your first day of summer vacation?"

"Nothing official. Right now I'm just hanging out at home. Koutarou is here with me."

"Interesting…" He said the word like a psychologist would, drawing out each syllable. "Would you two care to meet up somewhere and get lunch?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"I'll meet you in an hour, at the Hachiko statue for old times' sake."

When she closed the phone, Koutarou was back on his feet, arms folded and lips frowning. "I assume we're going to be a trio for the rest of the day?" he huffed.

In spite of all his pouting, Koutarou didn't voice any complaints on the trip to meet Akaba. He didn't really say much at all, which was perfectly alright with Julie. She would rather endure silence than for him say something about what happened, or rather, what _almost_ happened back in her bedroom.

Once they reached Hachiko and joined up with Akaba, any tension was dissolved. They were just three high school friends again, laughing, talking football and music while they looked for a place to have lunch. Koutarou wanted Chinese and Akaba wanted sushi, so they wound up at an Italian restaurant.

"Do you have any plans for the summer, Koutarou?" Akaba asked, calm as ever, between bites of his Caesar salad.

Koutarou's cheeks were bulging like a chipmunk's with spaghetti and meatballs, but unlike Akaba, he didn't bother to swallow before speaking. "Juft shinging wish Babby Yong Gegs."

"Well," Akaba said as he shoved a napkin pointedly across the table to him. "If all you plan on doing is singing, would you object to doing it outside of Tokyo?"

"Wait," said Julie. "Are you talking about going on tour?"

"On tour?" Koutarou had swallowed and cleaned his face and was leaning eagerly forward, like a dog about to be walked. "And by outside of Tokyo… Are we going to Kansai? Ooh! Kansai! We have to get okonomiyaki while we're there!"

Halfway done with his plate of pasta and he was already thinking about another meal. Silly Koutarou. If he had a tail it would be wagging.

Akaba responded crisply. "Not Kansai. It's a bit further away than that."

Julie and Koutarou tilted their heads in curious unison. "Further away, like… Hokkaido?" he asked.

"America," said Akaba.

"America?" Julie and Koutarou exclaimed together, loud enough that some patrons at the nearest tables turned their heads.

Akaba took a slow sip of water, in no hurry, before elaborating. "I have to admit that I don't know how a smalltime Japanese band like Daddy Long Legs garnered such a devoted fanbase in the United States in such a short time. But, for whatever reason, there is an audience for us across the ocean."

"That's great!" Koutarou boomed, slamming his palms on the table and leaping to his feet. "We'll get to be rock stars in America, and a free vacation to boot! I'm in! So what are talking a couple weeks?"

"More like a couple months," Akaba clarified. "We'd leave next week and be gone the whole summer. And we wouldn't be playing huge venues, of course, just spreading our sound at events and testing our new songs before they go on an album. Think you can handle it?"

Slowly, Koutarou sank back down to his seat.

Julie stared at his face, which was strangely blank for someone who'd just been presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Then his eyes homed in on hers and he returned her stare for almost a full minute before answering Akaba's query.

"Yeah, I can handle it."

Finally she saw a confident, fiery smile on Koutarou's face and tide of relief washed over her. But what had delayed it? What was he searching for in her eyes?

The rest of lunch was filled with fervent discussions about the upcoming trip, as if that moment of uncertainty had never happened and Julie concluded that it was probably just a fluke. One of those moments when the brain just goes blank, perhaps. The way he was wolfing down those meatballs, it could have simply been indigestion.

While the trio waited for the bill to come, two girls, high school kogals, approached their table with tiny steps, blushing and giggling the whole time. "Um… excuse me," one of them stuttered. "Are you Koutarou from Daddy Long Legs?"

Koutarou beamed charmingly. "The one and only." Then he winked at the girls and they fell against each other squealing with joy.

"Oh my god! He's so cute in real life!"

"And that means the other guy is Akaba Hayato! Kyaa~!"

Whereas Koutarou was drinking in the unexpected attention like a flower in sunshine, Akaba looked stiff, uncomfortable even. At least that was the impression Julie got.

The young fangirls regained their composure and each produced a copy of _Kick Shock_ from identical shoulder bags and thrust it forward.

"Sign our CDs?" one girl pleaded for both of them. "She's Reiko and I'm Shizuka. We're huge fans."

"Oh, um… of course," Akaba answered. Always cool and aloof, it was surreal to see him reacting so gawkily.

As singer and guitarist were autographing, their fans turned attention to the only female presence at the table. "So, are you like, Akaba's girlfriend?" Reiko giggled.

Julie cocked her head back and blinked in surprise. She was used to people asking her if Koutarou was her boyfriend, but this was the first time anyone had asked in regard to Akaba. "Well," she began.

"She's _not_!" Koutarou spat viciously.

The girl recoiled and made a face like she had something sour in her mouth. "Oh… She's not _your_ girlfriend, is she, Koutarou?"

"She is a close personal friend to both of us," Akaba said in a shockingly sharp tone that caused both girls to flinch. "Here are your CDs. Have a nice day."

Reiko and Shizuka slunk away, exchanging hushed whispers they must have thought were too soft to be heard, as they exited. "That Akaba is scary in person. Totally hot, but scary. Koutarou is more my type, though. So who do you think that girl is? She's not very cute…"

The rest was cut off with the closing swing of the restaurant door.

Koutarou turned to Akaba with a smug smile. "Way to reach out to the fanbase, guitar boy."

"I was merely unprepared for such scrutiny," he replied dismissively. "The fans I had as a football player didn't inquire about my love life. It was unnervingly personal."

"I hate to say it," Julie sighed. "But I think you are just going to have to get used to it."

Akaba's mouth was set in a hard line. "Maybe so, but I don't want them dragging you into their gossip, Jewels."

This little sign of concern from Akaba made her blush against her own will. "You don't have to worry about me," she said. "Nobody in America will have ever seen me. They won't know who I am."

Not to be outdone in chivalry, Koutarou interjected. "And even if they did, I'd kick 'em in the teeth if they ever said anything bad about you!"

…

One week was, in actuality, a very short length of time, particularly when it was all the time left before Julie's two best friends would leave to go halfway around the world. If she had known earlier, she would have taken all seven of those days to help them get ready, pick stylish clothes for them, listen in on those last minute rehearsals. But alas, she was only awarded the actual day of departure off work.

Up until that day came, she crammed Koutarou and Akaba into her schedule on either side of work, even when it meant waking and going to sleep at ridiculous hours and being only half-conscious at work.

That time spent with them, while precious, was full and frantic, a far cry from the blissfully meaningless waste of past summers that she cherished in memory.

With each day that week, Julie wanted less and less to think about her boys actually leaving. Though she had started out with nothing but jubilation, and still displayed as much on the surface, little thoughts and worries were accumulating like barnacles underneath this titanic American Tour.

Would Koutarou have a relapse of his performance anxiety? How would the American fans receive them? Would they be okay traveling around in a foreign country?

Then there were more selfish things, like the small twinge of anguish she felt at the thought of a whole summer alone. Since the day she met him, Julie had not spent a single summer without Koutarou.

There were also the fangirls that haunted her overactive imagination. Of course there would be more girls like Reiko and Shizuka, blonde, blue-eyed Americans, thrusting their enormous breasts in Koutarou's face. Why did that thought drive her absolutely crazy?

Much as she was not looking forward to it, the fated day arrived with a five AM shriek of that wretched alarm clock. The boys had an early flight and Julie was going accompany them to the airport, squeeze out every last second with them she could.

She dressed herself with sleep clumsy hands in a mini skirt and the grey Daddy Long Legs shirt that Koutarou gave her. Then she swept her hair off her face with a white headband and headed out to make the familiar journey two floors up and two doors down.

Koutarou was in jeans and a t-shirt when he answered the door, a state of readiness she hadn't seen from him since the last time he went to America, for the youth football world tournament. He was truly exhilarated about this trip.

And yet, he didn't say much on the train ride to the airport, too tired to banter, or perhaps too excited. His legs were jittering the whole way.

They were the last to arrive at the terminal. Although Sakai was nowhere to be seen, Akaba politely insinuated that he was saying goodbye to his girlfriend in private.

"I guess this is the final countdown," Julie said, the air that pushed the words out trembling as it left her chest. "I know it's just for the summer, but it's longest since we've all been friends that you guys will be away from me. No matter how incredible this is, you know I'm still going to miss you. It's so silly."

The coolness of Akaba's face warmed slightly with the appearance of a smile. "It's not silly. We'll miss you too, Jewels." He paused and lifted off the guitar case that was slung across his back, presenting it to her. "Kiss my guitar for good luck?"

Julie raised one eyebrow. "Since when do you believe in luck?" Without waiting for an answer to the rhetorical question, she unzipped the case and pressed her lips to the cold steel strings.

Looking over at Koutarou, she saw an opportunistic smile. "Why don't you kiss _my_ instrument?" he asked, wetting his lips with the tip of his tongue.

"Nice try, silly," she responded, playfully ruffling his thick, dark hair. Then she touched his wrist. "You have Elvis' bracelet. That should provide you all the luck you need." She had to be careful, though, as fingering his bracelet is what nearly triggered a kiss from him.

"Hey, it looks like our flight's started boarding," Akaba interrupted. "We'd better get going, Koutarou."

Julie sniffed once and bobbed her head vigorously. "Right, right. Don't forget to take care of each other over there." A puckish smile twisted her lips. "And don't forget to make the best damn music in the world. Show them how we rock in Japan."

Koutarou didn't grin but got the hard, focused look that always preceded a perfect field goal. "We will," he said. "The world is going to know who we are." He held up his hand and she slapped him a high five. Then he turned around and headed through the terminal.

Julie watched his back growing smaller until it disappeared completely then she dropped into the middle of a row of empty seats all bolted together. Once assured that their plane had safely gotten off the ground, she would go home and do, well, she had no idea what.

Goodbyes were all around her: families, friends, couples. Some were hugging goodbyes, some were handshake goodbyes, some were crying goodbyes. She knew that overly affectionate farewells weren't the norm for Japanese people, but still, she wished she had given him more than a high five.

Her eyes moved down to the toes of her boots as she tried not to see anything that would remind her of Koutarou. Lucklessly, a pair of hi-top sneakers remarkably like his paused in front of her and wouldn't move.

What did this guy want?

"Excuse me, may I help…" Her lifted gaze was met by a pair of smoke-colored eyes, shiny as river stones. "Koutarou?" she breathed. "What are you doing, idiot? You're going to miss your flight."

"No I won't," he said assuredly. "I've got time."

"Time… to do what?" Julie asked. There was a vague sense anticipation shuddering in her belly, like a bird ready to take flight.

"I have to ask you something," Koutarou said, his voice soft and thoughtful, two qualities it normally lacked. "I am all set to go on this tour, but I was wondering if there might be some reason you can think of that I shouldn't."

"What?"

"Well, sometimes I can be a bit reckless," he continued. "And I do things without thinking them through first. But you always know what I should do. So if there is any reason you can think of, any reason at all, that I shouldn't go to America for the summer, just say the word and I'll stay here in Japan with you."

As he spoke, Koutarou took on a hauntingly angelic appearance. Long, black lashes cast shadows on his cheeks. Lips, pink and perfectly bow-shaped, closed, pursed for a moment, and then softened. He was waiting for her to respond.

But words wouldn't come from her mouth. Now, when supplying a prompt answer was crucial, Julie found herself dumbstruck.

She could no longer deny her ugly, selfish feelings. That she wanted him to stay, wanted him to waste his summer with her like he always did. That she didn't want him to leave and come back changed by stardom, unrecognizable as the Koutarou she grew up with. Her Koutarou.

Her lips slid open and words finally came out. "I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't spend your summer in America. Now hurry or you'll miss your flight."

"Okay," he said mechanically. "I'll see you in September. Goodbye, Julie."

"Goodbye, Koutarou."

For the second time in less than ten minutes, he left her. This time she didn't wait for the plane to take off. She ran from the airport as if the oxygen inside were suffocating her. By the time she reached home, her Daddy Long Legs t-shirt was striped with tears.

To be continued…


	4. Blue Hawaii

Free Talk- Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 4: Blue Hawaii

* * *

July brought thick, muggy heat that even the near daily rain squalls couldn't wash away, making emergence from any air-conditioned space a thing done only out of dire necessity. And yet Julie, perhaps idiotically, kept subjecting herself to extra shifts at Red Threads, extra treks to and from Shibuya in the sticky summer swelter.

Her objective was to keep herself busy so she wouldn't feel her best friends' absence so sharply. It was a failed plan. Working more didn't make her any less bored and it certainly didn't make the days go by any quicker. Summer was an absolute drag.

Today she was at home because, as Yamaki put it, it was time to let someone else earn overtime pay. The temperature outside being one hundred degrees, Julie was more than happy to oblige. She was still bored, but at least she was cool.

Stretched out on her stomach in bed, she opened her computer and loaded Daddy Long Legs' website. There had been only one update to their blog since they left for America, written by Akaba in both Japanese and English.

_We have officially arrived in California. I know it's a cliché to say so, but the weather truly is beautiful here. The members of Daddy Long Legs are all very happy to have this opportunity to meet our kind fans in the United States and be able to play our songs for them. Please forgive the lack of updates to this site over the summer. We are quite busy making friends and making music. And if our manager is reading this, know that we miss you and wish you were here. Alas, another cliché. _

_Peace, Akaba._

Daddy Long Legs didn't have a manager. Akaba handled those duties himself. When Julie realized that the message was to her, affection blossomed in the center of her chest. It was reassuring to know that even with all the fun they were having being rock stars, they still had time to miss the old friend who was left bored out of her mind back in Japan.

She closed her computer and rolled to her back with a sigh. It would be silly of her to waste her day wondering whether Koutarou and Akaba were getting along in America (though she desperately hoped that they were), or how many fans were showing up for their performances. There had to be fun she could have without those two.

Hmm…

The girls she knew from college were starting to grate on her nerves. Their inane discussions of every single calorie they'd ingested in the last forty-eight hours and how worthless each one made them feel were about as fun to listen to as a three-hour lecture on lint. And not one of them had any appreciation for the beauty of 1970's fashion (called it tacky, the audacity!). They were peers, not friends.

Yamaki from work was only interested in talking to her about Akaba (though she usually referred to him as 'that scrumptious red-haired man-snack'), and asking what his 'type' of girl was. As if Julie actually knew. It always reminded her that one of the best things about being friends with boys was that they talked about more interesting things than boys.

God, she missed those two so much. Especially Koutarou. She could just imagine the sound of his rapid-fire doorbell ring, the sight of him, distorted through her peephole, cocking that giant water gun (his favorite summer toy) in preparation for a sneak attack. Didn't he realize that she could see him? But inevitably, she would always let him in and take her soaking with good humor.

The memory made her chest ache faintly so she tried to forget.

Of course, there was always Harumi for companionship. It had been a while since Julie had spent any quality time with her little sister. Sure, Haru was a smart-mouthed, fake-tanned kogal, but she was still family, and Julie wouldn't get to see her very often once she was a fashion designer living in Paris or New York City.

After getting this far into the day, nearly noon, without changing out of pajamas, Julie saw no reason to do so before leaving her bedroom. Harumi was sprawled on the living room floor with the newest issue of _Cookie_, an electric fan gusting full power in her face even though the air conditioning was doing its job splendidly.

"Hey, sis," Julie cheerfully greeted, but Harumi didn't even look up. "_Nana_ good this month?"

"Saving it for last," Haru answered in a peevish grunt. The sisterly bonding plan might be more of a challenge than first anticipated. "Oh, you got something in the mail today," Haru added apathetically. "It's got United States postage on it so it's probably from ol' doofus. It's on the kitchen table."

With a burst of excitement, Julie launched herself into the kitchen and practically dove into the neat stack of mail. The item she sought was at the very bottom, a rather thick brown envelope with six perfectly aligned American flag stamps in the corner. She was grinning before she even opened it.

The handwriting wasn't Koutarou's wild scrawls. It was tight and precise, like the script of a government official. Akaba's. But that didn't thwart her enthusiasm. She tore into it like it was candy. Inside were a smaller envelope and a folded letter, also in Akaba's writing.

_Dear Jewels,_

_I hope you saw the shout-out to you on the website, even though it was worded to protect your anonymity. Sorry I haven't had much time to email you. I kind of wanted this letter to be a pleasant surprise. Our American fans have been very friendly and very enthusiastic. I am shocked that there are so many and can't help wondering how many of them know what our lyrics mean. We are really having a lot of fun, though._

Julie frowned at the slight jealousy that line aroused in her but continued reading.

_By now I am guessing that your summer is starting to wear thin, so I'm sending you a present that I hope will make things more exciting. It will require you to take some vacation days from work, but knowing you, I am sure you have saved up over a month's worth._

_Koutarou sends his regards._

_Peace, Akaba_

"Regards?" Julie muttered, wrinkling her nose at the most un-Koutarou-ish sentiment. It read more like an afterthought, included only because Akaba knew Koutarou hadn't contacted her either and knew that she would be wondering about him. She tried not to let it get to her. Koutarou wasn't much of an author, so the fact that he didn't email or write her was no proof that he had nothing to say.

Once again she had to make a concerted effort not to think Koutarou, this time by turning her attention to that enticing little envelope and opening it with the same zeal she did the outer layer. Her heart beat out an elated flutter when she saw what her present was: one front row ticket to Daddy Long Legs' August 15th concert in Honolulu, one backstage pass, and one plane ticket to Hawaii.

No need to worry about Koutarou not writing. She was going to see him in person, Akaba too.

"Yahoooo!" she squealed, so loud that everyone living on the same floor of the apartment complex must have heard. But Julie didn't give a hoot. She was on cloud nine, literally jumping for joy until her sister came in and glared at her like she belonged in a loony bin.

"What the hell has got into you?" Haru asked, staring wide-eyed at her older sister's antics.

"I'm going to Hawaii!" Julie jubilantly declared. "Hawaii! Hawaii!"

Then she danced a loose but graceful pirouette, recalling her five years of childhood ballet lessons, past her sister and back out to the living room. Retrieving Harumi's abandoned magazine, she twirled twice on one foot then made a nimble landing on the couch before flipping the pages to _Nana_.

This summer was looking pretty damn good.

Mere possession of those tickets had an immediately magical effect, transforming the remaining days leading up to their actual use from excruciating drudgery to giddy anticipation. Even the heat seemed to let up, soothed by thoughts of island breezes and Koutarou's coffee ice cream voice.

…

Narita Airport, Julie noted, took on a completely different aura when one of those big white birds was taking her to her friends, rather than taking them away from her. No longer were the terminals filled with bittersweet goodbyes. Or maybe they were, but she didn't notice them because this time it wasn't the people left behind that she identified with, it was all those with their suitcases and garment bags in tow, bound for exotic destinations.

Her heart was thrumming as she found her seat on the plane. Hands clammy with perspiration hugged her carryon to her chest, as if this was going to be a five-minute bus ride and she had to be ready to exit at the next stop.

"No need to be so anxious, my dear," a tiny, grey-haired old woman sitting next to her said. "The Islands will still be there when we arrive."

"Right," Julie chuckled sheepishly. She settled deep into her seat and loosened the grip on her bag. Hawaii would wait for her and so would Koutarou.

It was a long flight, a long confinement in that giant metal tube full of recirculated air. Julie didn't like admitting that she was not a good flier. Imagine, a young woman whose future plans included travel to the most glamorous cities in the world gasping sickly every time the plane pitched on an air current.

The nausea churned the sea of her stomach like a thunderstorm, dredging up thoughts and feelings long sunken. Koutarou's goodbye, the second one, came back to her clearly, the robotic tone of his voice and the distant look in his eyes.

Wait, was she really remembering it clearly?

If she was then Koutarou's emotion at that time was not too difficult to pin down. Disappointment. Even though Julie was able to beat down her selfish urge to hold him back, Koutarou must have noticed from her hesitation that it was a battle inside her, that she had actually considered tearing him away from his dream.

Maybe that's why she only got regards from him.

Of course she could have the situation all wrong. Feeling sick had a tendency to distort one's perceptions, even of past events, and make things seem a lot less pleasant then they are or were. Perhaps what she remembered as disappointment has actually been restrained jubilation.

If she'd only been less emotional in the moment she would have deciphered his body language right then and there, and wouldn't be tormenting herself over it now.

After the first hour or so, her stomach started to settle, and with it, her brain. She pulled from her carryon bag two of her very favorite things, a pristine new sketchbook and the iPod she'd bought after seeing Daddy Long Legs' commercial.

Most of the song they were performing in America were already stored on her device, raw, not-quite-ready-for-the-album versions that Koutarou had burned on a CD for her before he left. _Kick Shock_ was still her favorite.

Yes, Julie was feeling much better now. How silly of her to worry about her best friend being upset with her when she was less than a day away from seeing him in person and talking to him face-to-face.

She pressed play on her iPod, closed her eyes and let his voice fill her.

Her next lucid experience was feeling a gentle prodding of the soft part of her arm. Eyes opened with a flutter and focused the blurry image of a wizened face, wrinkles stretched back by a smile. That granny who had been such a quiet neighbor was on her feet and clutching her knitting basket.

Julie clumsily pulled her headphones down around her neck.

"We're here, my dear," the little old lady said. "You were so excited to get to Hawaii that you fell asleep for the last four hours of the journey."

"Huh?" Julie gave her eyes a good rub with fisted hands and looked around to orient herself. Passengers were standing, gathering their things, and exiting while she was still curled against her seat in a pile of her own rubble. She'd been drawing when she dozed off so there were colored pencils all over her lap and in the crevices between her and the chair.

"Do you need help?" the old lady asked.

Already on her feet and frantically gathering her things, Julie shook her head. "No, no, don't trouble yourself. I've got it." It was embarrassing enough that she'd fallen asleep like a baby in a car seat, and having to be assisted by a tiny elderly lady would just make her feel more pathetic.

Consequently, she was the last passenger to exit and the attendants had run out of silk flower leis, a trivial thing. Her heart thudded loudly inside her chest as she made her way up the narrow gate, endured the tedium of security and baggage claim. Would he be waiting for her in the terminal?

An unmistakable shock of apple red hair stood out even from a distance and Julie's feet stepped faster.

"Aloha, Jewels," Akaba greeted, pulling down his dark glasses to reveal his colored contacts and smiling in his subtle way.

"It's good to see you, Akaba." She smiled warmly at him but soon her eyes were darting to his left and right, searching. Nobody familiar was there. "So, uh, where is…"

"Rehearsal," he answered, having detected the end of her question. "Koutarou and the others are getting in some last minute practice for tonight's show. Because I was always playing guitar while they were goofing off, I'm the lucky one who gets to pick you up."

"Oh," Julie said, trying not to sound let down. Seeing Akaba for the first time in two months was still a wonderful feeling.

His red eyes gave her the quick head-to-toe. "You didn't get lei'd?"

It took Julie a few blinks before she deciphered the question. "Oh, yeah, they ran out before they got to me," she chuckled. "Why? Is it a big faux pas to be seen around here without one?"

This was something she genuinely wanted to know, but the look it earned from Akaba was about as close to laughter as she had ever seen him get. "It's not a faux pas. And if it was, you wouldn't have to make it." He reached into a nice shopping bag that Julie hadn't noticed before and brought out a necklace, not of silk flowers but real pink hibiscus, and placed it over her head.

"They're beautiful," she said. A hot blush was creeping its way into her cheeks. "And so fragrant."

He gave a curt nod. "Glad you like them, Jewels. Now, let's get you to your hotel so you can get settled, shower, and eat before the show."

"Okay." She had just noticed the gaggle of young girls, clustered at a polite distance, who were whispering and giggling and pointing at Akaba. Her blush burned. "Let's go."

They took a taxi to the hotel, and much to Julie's relief, it was not a long drive. After seven and a half hours in an airplane, she felt stiff and grungy. A shower and a change of clothes would do a world of good.

Akaba didn't say anything during the twenty-minute drive, which wasn't a bit unusual, but for some reason Julie felt acutely aware of his presence. Or rather, she was acutely aware of Koutarou's absence. It almost felt like she hadn't yet arrived.

The hotel was a thing of beauty, even independent of its paradisiacal backdrop, an enormous white curve of building with a row of Corinthian columns reaching three stories high in front of the entrance.

"How much did you pay for my room?" Julie asked, lips puckering suspiciously as she stepped out of the taxi and took in the unobstructed sight of her lodgings.

"It's nothing for you to be concerned with," Akaba answered coolly. He retrieved her suitcase from the trunk and paid the driver then led the way into the lobby.

Once she was checked in, they boarded a gilded elevator bound for the ninth floor. "Your room is right next to the suite the band is staying in," Akaba said. "I'm going to leave the extra card key with you, in case you need access for any reason." The elevator dinged and he walked with her to the very end of a door-lined hallway. "Nine-oh-nine is yours. Now, I have to get back to the guys. Think you'll be okay getting to the show on your own?"

"I think so," she said. "Say hi to…" She paused. "Everyone for me. And I guess I'll see you after the concert?"

"Just come back stage as soon as it's over. Later, Jewels."

"Yeah, later."

There was just under three hours until the concert started, enough time to get herself cleaned up, fed, and dressed, with enough left over to stretch her legs out on the balcony. Travel brochures did not do this island justice. The setting sun streaked marmalade orange over the surface of the Pacific Ocean and only a distant fringe of rain clouds marred the coral-colored sky.

Maybe tomorrow she would get to spend some time on the beach with Koutarou. Akaba could come too if he wanted. It would be just like those carefree summers she remembered.

She covered a giggle at the memory of twelve-year old Koutarou trying to split a watermelon with his foot rather than a bat, only to send it flying into the ocean, and leaving them and their friends without dessert. Of course, at the time she just shook her head and sighed out of exasperation. But in retrospect, his idiocy was kind of… cute.

It was time to go to the show.

Girls, scads of them, filled the seats in the auditorium. Oh, there were boys there too, but they sank into the background. They weren't the ones squeaking with barely contained excitement and wearing homemade t-shirts that said _Marry me, Koutarou!_ in surprisingly good Japanese.

Julie's stomach clenched as if being squeezed by a giant fist. This was exhilarating, surreal, nerve-wracking all at once. There might not have been enough fans to fill a huge venue like Budokan, but they were passionately devoted, shouting their love for the band and wearing it on hats and shirts and buttons. And the most popular of the quartet was plainly obvious.

After claiming her seat in the front row, between two teenage girls in full _I (Heart) Koutarou_ gear, Julie found herself wishing that she had at least worn her Daddy Long Legs shirt. Her white cotton dress was totally unsuited for this crowd, and actually, she realized, unsuited for any rock concert. Why had she felt compelled to wear her prettiest outfit? She was the band's first and biggest fan, for crying out loud!

The house lights went out and the fangirls screamed. A screen covering the stage illuminated to reveal the silhouettes of the four former football players and the sound of Akaba's first strum poured from the speakers. The screen slowly rolled up.

Julie's heart was in her throat.

There he was, the boy who kicked watermelons into the sea and wasted precious timeouts to share stories with the opposition, Sasaki Koutarou. Tight jeans hugged his whippet-thin frame, but his shirt was loose, fully unbuttoned to reveal lightly tanned chest and stomach.

The drum and bass guitar joined in. Koutarou opened his mouth and the girls went wild. The voice of an angel cut through the shrieks and squeals like a hot knife through butter. No CD, no file on an iPod could compare to the real thing.

Daddy Long Legs, all of them, not just Koutarou, were in top form. All of those songs that Julie had only heard in their embryonic stages were given full life on that stage in front of her. Whenever the lyrics broke for a guitar solo, Koutarou whipped a comb from his back pocket and preened, causing his fans to giggle and cheer. To them it must have seemed like a stage affectation.

_Kick Shock_ was the first song they performed and the last, a vociferously demanded encore. When the screen lowered for good and the house lights came on, the entire audience stood up and roared in approval. Several female fans hurled things onto the stage, including what Julie was pretty darn sure were panties.

Now she was about to go back stage and be as close to him as she used to be. Gorgeous as his singing voice was, it was the sound of him just talking, saying something is 'smart,' that she had missed so much over the summer.

And if Koutarou did have even a trace of doubt that she supported him, Julie was going to set him straight, make him know that she believed in him. With all of her heart.

She wove her way between the chattering, exit-bound masses as quickly as she could, heading for the stage door in the back. A large man with thick arms crossed over his chest was standing guard, but he opened the door and let Julie through when she flashed her backstage pass.

"Dressing room's at the end of the hall," he said in a gravelly voice.

Julie dashed, awkwardly in the strapped sandals she'd stupidly worn, and skidded to a stop outside the door.

They must not be ready to let people back, she figured based on the fact that another girl was already waiting. The stranger was pretty, smooth-skinned and slender with a long whip of black hair down her back and a backstage pass like a badge of honor on her ample breast. Her face was remarkably unemotional for someone about to meet a rock and roll band, and it made Julie itch with curiosity.

"Are you a friend of the band?" she asked. The girl looked at her and raised a thinly plucked eyebrow, but said nothing. Maybe she didn't speak Japanese. In her most careful English, Julie tried again. "My name is Julie Sawai. Nice to meet you."

The girl's lips curled at the corners. "Jessica Coburn," she said, extending her hand.

There was a vaguely insincere quality to her smile that was consistent with someone who had to wear a pleasant demeanor as part of her job. Must be a reporter, Julie figured as she shook Miss Coburn's hand.

It made her feel happier than she'd care to admit that the only other person waiting to go backstage was from the media. Her insides twisted uncomfortably at the thought of having to share her Koutarou reunion with some teenybopper whose clothing bore a profession of love to him.

The door opened just wide enough for Akaba to stick his red head out. "Ah, Julie, Jessica. Everyone is decent now so you can come on in." He stepped back and the door opened all the way.

Julie held her breath as she followed Jessica over the threshold. She could hear Koutarou's boisterous laugh and a moment later she saw him, standing in front of her with a huge smile. To hell with restraint! She was just going to go throw her arms around him in a hug befitting her very best friend.

But before she could act on the impulse, that girl Jessica flung herself into Koutarou and, shockingly, he embraced her. Kissed her. Let her coil around him like a pet snake. He didn't even notice that Julie was there until he had to come up for air.

"Oh, hey Julie," he said a bit too cordially, not the way she remembered. "Have you met my girlfriend?"

To be continued…


	5. Maneater

Free Talk: Thank you for the wonderful, kind words! It makes me so happy to know there are other people who like the Bando trio out there, because I am just a tad obsessed with them right now. I hope those of you who are reading this story will stick with it to the end. There is still a lot more to come. I am very self-concious of how long the chapters of this story are (and this is the longest yet), and worry that people won't want to invest that much time into a reading a fanfic. I want to keep it interesting so people will be willing to take the time to read the whole thing. Please tell me what you think, and warn me if it gets boring. A million thanks to those who've made it this far.

**Koutarou Star  
**By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 5: Maneater

* * *

"Jessica is… your girlfriend?" The question came out of Julie's lips in a tone similar to a cancer patient asking, 'it's… malignant?'

Koutarou, ever oblivious, beamed proudly. "Isn't she cute?"

Though Julie had assessed the girl as attractive when she thought she was a reporter, looking at her now, wrapped around Koutarou like a mink stole, she couldn't imagine anything less cute. It didn't help when the girl shrugged out of her sensible jacket to reveal a tight red halter-top. But by far the most unsettling thing about Jessica Coburn was her plastic smile, which looked almost sinister as she nuzzled it against his jaw.

Visceral dislike rose inside Julie's stomach like the upwelling lava of Mauna Loa, but was held inside by an icy flash of guilt. She had no right to hate this girl she barely knew, so why was her immediate gut reaction pure loathing? Because she was rubbing against Koutarou like some damn cat? Or because Koutarou seemed to be enjoying it so much?

"My Kouta is so cute," Jessica purred in broken Japanese.

"She's still just learning the language," Koutarou said, smiling like an idiot as he pulled her against him.

Julie already had the distinct impression that their relationship was not built on conversation. She swallowed around a hardening lump of magma in her throat and forced a smile that she didn't really feel. "Well, congratulations. You two seem… very happy."

"Very happy," Jessica repeated in her terrible Japanese. Her hands were fiddling with Koutarou's belt like she was trying to get it undone. Was she going to undress him and start screwing him right in front of everyone? The trapped heat inside Mount Julie seared painfully.

Fortunately, Akaba had just joined them and his icy aura soothed her somewhat. "Let's try to keep the lewdness to a minimum." He jabbed Jessica's hand with the head of his guitar. "No hanky-panky," he said in cold English.

Whether he had done it for her sake or not, Julie was supremely grateful for Akaba's intervening. "So, uh, what's the plan?" she asked, having no idea what to expect as she'd never been backstage at a concert before.

"Private party," said Akaba. "Back at the hotel. You are, of course, invited, Jewels."

Although she had asked the question, Julie paid no attention to the answer, too distracted by the vile sight of Koutarou engaged in an undignified lip-lock with his bimbo. Again, guilt stabbed her.

_I don't know her. I can't judge her. Koutarou is my friend, my best friend. I should want him to be happy. And if this girl…_

"Are you okay, Jewels?" Akaba's voice cut into her thoughts. "You're grinding your teeth pretty hard there. Something bothering you?"

She hadn't noticed that her jaw was clenched like a bear trap and relaxed her muscles as soon as he pointed it out. "I'm fine, perfectly fine, great even. Just trying to, uh, un-pop my ears. From the plane…" Her excuse was so lame she couldn't even fool herself. "So, you said something about a party?"

Akaba pulled his glasses halfway down his nose and impassively scrutinized her, perhaps trying to decide whether or not to push the matter further. "I think you should share a car with me," he finally said. "You look like you could use a _calm_ ride back to the hotel." The word 'calm' here clearly translated to 'free from disgusting tongue-wrestling.'

"Yeah, that sounds good," she replied. Julie had more than a few questions about Koutarou's new lady love, and getting Akaba on his own was her best shot at answers.

Bassist and drummer were already migrating towards the door and with one had on her back, Akaba shepherded Julie in the same direction, making sure to put Koutarou and Jessica behind them. He guided her through the hallways and around two or three corners before they reached a large metal door that opened into an alley behind the auditorium. Two shiny black cars were waiting.

The first car was taken by first two musicians and drove off. Akaba opened a door on the second and waited for Julie to get in before taking a seat next to her. Her whole body tensed in anticipation of a third car arriving in time to carry the two remaining people, but none came. The sound of the door on her side opening made her stomach twist.

"Looks like we'll be squeezing in with you guys," Koutarou said, sliding in next to Julie and forcing her into the middle seat.

"There isn't enough room for four back here," Akaba said. "One of you two will have to ride in front with the driver."

Koutarou pouted. "It's not that long a drive. Can't Jess ride on my lap?" She was already there, straddling his hips and kissing his neck, making Julie nauseous.

"The law requires all occupants be properly fastened by a seatbelt," said Akaba, curt as a safety manual. "One of you, in the front."

"Fine, fine," Koutarou huffed. "I'll sit up front." With some effort he managed to pry Jessica off of him and squeeze himself out the door beneath her. Once everyone was settled and belted, the car started to move.

For the first several minutes, nobody said anything. Julie had situated more towards Akaba's side to keep as much space as possible between her and the love bunnies, and remained so even after they were separated. Jessica eyed her suspiciously and she leaned away further, so much that she was now pressing snuggly against Akaba.

"Oh, I understand now," Jessica said, nodding and smiling coyly at Julie. "You are Akaba girlfriend?"

Julie was stunned, but it was Koutarou who reacted first, utterly riled. "She's _not_ Akaba's girlfriend!" he barked, twisting in his seat so that all three in the back could see his jeering face. "Julie. Akaba. Not. Dating!" His English was about as good as Jessica's Japanese.

So that one-sided animosity was still burning, through football and rock and roll. Julie sighed. In the past she had blamed his loud objections to her dating Akaba on his not-at-all-secret desire to date her himself. But apparently it was just another outgrowth of his disdain for the guy and she felt pretty damn self-absorbed for thinking otherwise.

She cleared her throat and explained in simple English. "Akaba and I are just friends." To emphasize the point, she scooted away from him as he let out a soft, "fuu."

It wasn't the end of the matter. Jessica was frowning sourly, her eyes moving back and forth between Koutarou and Julie. She must not be fully schooled on the old rivalry, and therefore her boyfriend's statement could be interpreted as jealousy and be quite an insult to her.

Julie wasn't sure why but she felt compelled to add, "Koutarou and I are also just friends." The words stung on their way out of her mouth.

Jessica looked pleased. "So you two never…?"

"Never anything," Julie assured. "Never sex, never date, never kiss." That one _almost_ kiss need not be mentioned.

Everything seemed to have been cleared up, but the rest of the drive still passed silently. When the hotel was within sight, Jessica became animated again.

"I set up the party during concert. You will like, very sexy!"

That explained why she wasn't next to Julie in the front row. She hadn't even gone to hear Koutarou sing. One thing Julie was absolutely sure of: if _she_ were Koutarou's girlfriend she would _never_ miss a chance to come to one of his performances, especially to set up some stupid party.

As soon as they all got out of the car, Jessica reattached herself to Koutarou and the two spent the elevator ride to the ninth floor engaged in tongue-to-tongue combat. Julie spent it suppressing her gag reflex.

The sound of loud music and louder laughter was audible even before the suite door was opened. Inside the party was already in full swing. At least twenty hip, young people (it was hard to tell exactly how many with just the flicker of strobes for lighting) were dancing, joking, and enjoying copious volumes of alcohol. Bottles of gin, vodka, rum, tequila, and scotch were on a table along with other liquors and mixers, and there was also a plastic tub filled with ice and beers.

The primary activity at this party was pretty clear.

Without even bothering to greet anyone, Jessica dragged Koutarou by the hand back to an empty armchair so they could resume what they had been doing in the elevator. This was going to be a long, long party and Julie wasn't sure she could stand it.

"Can I get you a drink, Jewels?" Akaba asked her.

She responded with a halfhearted smile. "Actually, I have a bit of a headache. It's been a long day. I think I'll just retire to my room. The show was great, though. Enjoy your celebration." Her eyes, by some masochistic instinct, went back for a last look at Koutarou and Jessica. "Why doesn't she just unhinge her jaw and swallow him?" she muttered under her breath.

Akaba apparently heard. "Because it would mess up her makeup," he answered, deadpan. "You sure you don't want to stick around? I have aspirin."

"Thanks, but I'm okay," she sighed. "I think I just need a good night of sleep."

"Okay," he said. "Best to listen to what your body is telling you. Tomorrow will be calmer. We'll relax on the beach."

"Sound good," she lied. The prospect of a day at the beach, so appealing when she first arrived, was now drained of all its charm. Koutarou would be all over that Jessica and wouldn't be her best friend having fun with her like they used to.

The walls in the hotel must have been built thick, because when Julie was sealed inside her own room, the party next door was only the faintest roar. She didn't turn on the light, just crumpled into a pitiful heap on the neatly made bed.

"Stupid Koutarou," she mumbled into the crisp pillowcase. "Stupid, stupid…" There was a physical desire to cry in the corner of her eyes, but no tears would come out, probably because she knew she really had no right to feel sorry for herself.

After several minutes, there was a quiet knock on the door, accompanied by cool voice. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, hold on," Julie answered. She sat up from her fetal position a bit too fast and the downward rush of blood left her lightheaded and clumsy as she went to let in her guest.

"How's the headache?" Akaba asked.

Julie's face scrunched slightly. "Headache? Oh right. It's feeling a little better. Did you come over to ask me that? I told you I would be fine…"

He took his time turning on the light and sitting down on the bed. "I know, and that's not the only reason I am here. I have to talk to you about your key."

"My key? You want back the extra key to the suite you gave me?" It was odd of Akaba to make himself comfortable just to retrieve a card key, but Julie obliged without question.

"Not the key to the suite," Akaba said just as Julie was digging through her purse for it. She stopped and looked at him, her head tilted, and he continued. "I am talking about the key of your personal song."

A music metaphor, of course. She flopped backwards onto the bed next to him and gazed up at the ceiling as she asked, "What about it?"

"It's changed," he said, not laying back with her like Koutarou would have, but maintaining his upright perch on the edge. "You normally go about life in a major key, very bright and upbeat. But ever since you met us backstage, you've shifted into a minor key. You're like a dirge, Jewels, and I can't shake the feeling that it is all due to a certain kicker."

She'd been moping, and not hiding it well. That was the message that Akaba was conveying, albeit in his own strange language. Julie had missed her opportunity in the car, but now she was being offered another chance to get the full story on Jessica Coburn.

"Why didn't you tell me that Koutarou had a girlfriend? In your letter or an email, or when you met me at the airport? Why did you just let it slap me in the face?" Her first question came out a lot whinier than intended.

Akaba responded with a small shrug. "Fuu, I didn't think it was my news to tell. And I had no idea it would upset you so much."

Julie looked up at him and answered squeakily. "Of course I'm upset. Koutarou is my…" She had to stop because she didn't know how to end the sentence. "He's Koutarou," she sighed. "I've known him so long… I guess I never imagined him getting a girlfriend."

"You are not alone in that," Akaba said. "That guy's social style has always been so staccato, no grace at all with the ladies. But I guess you know that first hand."

A soft groan gurgled from Julie's throat. "So do they do anything besides kissing?"

"Well they barely understand each other's language, so that sort of rules out spirited discussions…"

That wasn't the sort of thing that she was actually wondering about. "I mean physically," she self-consciously blurted. "Have… have they gone… you know, further than kissing?"

Akaba scratched his neck and looked away, answering the question without words. When Julie made a tiny croak of disbelief, he sighed. "She's his girlfriend. I'm not crazy about Jessica either, but she seems to keep Koutarou happy, or distracted at least. Do you know how depressed he was after you rejected his confession? He needed something…"

Julie wrenched herself upright again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there," she interrupted. "After I _what_ his _what_?"

The two friends stared at each other, both as if the other was crazy. Akaba seemed to be waiting for her to admit she had any idea what he was talking about. But of course she didn't. "At the airport," he reminded. "After we boarded the plane he told me he couldn't leave without telling you how he feels and ran out to catch you. When he came back, he said you'd turned him down."

This alternate account of what happened between her and Koutarou at Narita Airport hit Julie like a bucket of ice water dumped on her head. Her mouth gaped as she searched for words. "_That_ was supposed to be a love confession? He asked me if I thought he should really go to America or stay in Japan. At no point did he mention love, or dating, or his feelings."

"Fuu…" Akaba shook his head. "He told me he confessed. I really should have known better than to accept it at surface level."

Edginess was shaking Julie's foundation now, pushing her by centimeters towards hysteria. "Of course I told him he should go to America," she croaked. "What else could I say? But to him that was a rejection. And I was so sure he would resent me if I told him I _didn't_ want him to go. Oh god! I inadvertently threw him at sleazy Jessica!" She pressed her fisted hands against the sides of her skull and rolled across the bed. "Stupid Koutarou, why did you choose this one time not to be straightforward?"

"He really is an idiot sometimes," Akaba mused.

Having done enough writhing, Julie rolled herself off the bed and stood tall. "I have to go and clear this up. I have to tell him that I didn't understand what he was really asking and get that skank off him." She started towards the door, but Akaba stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "Before you go barging in, I have to ask: do you want to date Koutarou yourself?"

Her posture lost some of its confidence and she turned to face him with her arms folded over her stomach. "I guess I hadn't really thought about it. I just want things to be like they've always been."

"You mean you want Koutarou's time and attention, but you only want him as your best friend?"

Hearing Akaba describe the situation, Julie suddenly felt like a monster. "You're right," she uttered. "I can't break up his current relationship, no matter how distasteful I find it, unless I seriously want to start one with him. And I just… I don't know if that's what I want or not. Dating Koutarou would be…"

"Strange?" Akaba offered.

"Not so much strange as just… different. Koutarou and I have been friends for over half our lives, since we met in ballet class when we were eight." Akaba crooked is head curiously, a rare expression for him, and Julie sighed wistfully. "That's a story for another day, I promise."

Focused back on the matter at hand, Akaba tapped his chin pensively. "So you are afraid that if you were to date Koutarou it would be awkward?"

"And if it didn't work out it would ruin the friendship we've built," she amended.

"Which explains why you never said yes any of the times he asked you out. But, of course, you didn't say no either. And you did write _Kick Shock_ about him."

Julie flushed. "He doesn't know I wrote it," she said, slightly embarrassed. "Nobody does except you and the principal, who I let take the blame, er… credit."

"The point is, you do have some feelings for Koutarou," said Akaba. "And now you are left with two options. You can tell him that you like him, but there are an awful lot of risks attached. He could choose to stay with Jessica, making things between all parties very uncomfortable. And even if he does leave her to date you, there is always the possibility of it not working out, which could destroy any chance of you two staying friends."

The sheer weight of that situation sagged Julie's posture. "And what's my other option?" she asked glumly.

"As the Beatles sang, let it be," he answered coolly. "Leave his relationship with Jessica to its natural course, and carry on your own life without dwelling on 'what ifs.' Maybe this misunderstanding was an act of fate."

"But you aren't into things like fate, are you? That's more Koutarou's domain."

"It might surprise you, the things he and I have in common." As Akaba said this, his eyes glimmered like dancing red koi, for only a single moment, and then returned to normal. However brief, it sent a tickling wave of goose bumps up Julie's arms.

"So you really think it's fate for me not to date Koutarou?" she asked softly.

He wasn't even looking at her anymore. His head was bowed, his fingers wrapped around the fretboard of an invisible guitar and pressing out the chords of a silent song as his other hand strummed. "That, I can't answer," he said in an almost melodic voice. "But I do think the friendship between you and Koutarou has better odds of surviving you two dating other people than it does of surviving you two dating each other and breaking up. Frankly, I don't want to see either of you hurt like that."

That's right. Koutarou could wind up getting very hurt if she acted carelessly. Julie clutched the front of her dress, right over the spot where her heart was pounding out a cadence that would give Sakai and his drums a run for their money.

"Have you decided what you are going to do?" Akaba asked. He had finished his song and gotten to his feet.

Julie's fist unclenched and she smoothed the wrinkles it left in the white cotton fabric. "Tonight," she said. "I am going to enjoy a party hosted by my favorite rock band."

Akaba nodded. "That sounds like a good plan. But remember you owe me an embarrassing story about Koutarou in tights." He opened the door, and together they went to rejoin the party next door.

The dancing was sloppier than it had been when she left, alcohol already working its magic on the revelers. Conversations were louder, lewder, and were punctuated with more snorting laughter.

Jessica was still latched onto Koutarou like a hungry lamprey, though at some point during Julie's absence she had shed her tight jeans in favor of even tighter, ridiculously short shorts with a waist so low it revealed her garish red thong. Her arms were threaded into Koutarou's shirt, tickling him mercilessly and making him laugh around their seemingly endless make-out session.

Julie felt a sudden need to get herself a drink.

The young man standing at the bar area couldn't have been twenty-one yet, but neither was she. He welcomed her with a smooth grin. "What sort of drink can I get for such a cute girl?"

Knowing very little about alcohol, she just said, "Surprise me."

It took less than a second for the bartender to decide for her. "I'll make you a Blue Hawaiian. It's seasonal, local, and it matches your hair." His hands moved faster than Julie's eyes could keep up with (this underage guy knew his stuff), and the final product was a tall blue beverage garnished with a pineapple spear and a miniature umbrella.

"Thanks," Julie said. She took a cautious sip through a straw. It tasted very sweet, not very strong. The sound of Jessica and Koutarou's mingled giggles wafted across the room and she took a long drag, as if the straw was a cigarette (not that she'd ever smoked).

_Let is be. Let it be. Let it be._

Her brain repeated the phrase like a mantra as her lips effortlessly drained her glass. That Blue Hawaiian felt good in her belly. It was cold, but it made her feel warm, more relaxed. Another one couldn't hurt. Every time she caught a glimpse of those two making out she just took a long gulp and her feelings got a little duller.

By the end of her third drink, she wasn't even bothered by them anymore.

She spied a fiery mop of hair a few meters away, with an accompanying pair of eyes watching her anxiously from behind dark glasses. Legs feeling a bit clumsy, she waved her arm in a wide arc over her head and called him over to her. "Hey, Akaba! C'mere!"

He started towards her with small, slow steps. Rather than wait for the dawdler, she decided to meet him halfway, but on her very first step one foot snagged on the other. Akaba was in front of her in two quick strides, just in time to catch her before she fell. It was a head rush, but for some reason it made her laugh and laugh.

"Akaba!" she bubbled, still clinging to his sturdy body for support. "I think I'm back in a major key!"

"I think you're drunk," he said.

"Really?" She batted her eyes innocently at him. "No, I'm not drunk. I'm just happy because I've realized how much fun drinking is." Another fit of giggles took her but most of it was absorbed by Akaba's shirt.

"You've only been at the party for half an hour, Jewels. How much did you have to drink?"

Inexplicably, Julie's brain couldn't come up with the name of that number right after two, so she held up her fingers instead. "This many Blue Hawaiians! But I only took a sip when I felt sad about stupid Toukarou. And now I don't feel sad anymore! Let it be! In major key!"

Her knees wobbled like a baby deer's and Akaba steadied her. "Come on, let me get you some water so you don't get dehydrated," he said.

"You're such a worrywart," she scoffed. "This is a party not a football practice. 'Don't get dehydrated,'" she imitated in her best Akaba voice. "You know what? You know what? I have decided that if Koutarou wants to do sex with that… that thong girl, then maybe I'll just have to find a lover of my own."

Yes, yes, that's just what she'd do. She would find herself a handsome lover and it wouldn't take long from there for her to get over Koutarou. Ah! The perfect candidate was right in front of her face.

"Akaba! Of course! You can be my boyfriend. Whaddaya say? Wanna spent the night with me, Akaba?" She stretched up and whispered in his ear. "You wanna have _sex_ with me? Heheheh." It was supposed to be her most sultry voice but it dissolved into giggles at the end.

Akaba shook his head. "Jewels, you don't really want to have sex with me, the rum wants you to have sex with me. Please let me take you back to your room and get you to bed before you do anything more you might regret."

"Go back to my room and take me to bed?" she snickered. "You're the boss."

He started to lead her through the small crowd, arms protectively around her. She looked down, and to her delight, she realized there was still one last slurp of cocktail left in the glass she was holding. Before she could lift it to her mouth, Akaba snatched it away. "You're done for the night," he said.

The edges of his words were starting to blur into the other party noises. He stopped them in front of the bar so he could snap at the guy making drinks, but Julie could only make out bits and pieces. She definitely heard the words _Blue Hawaiian_, and she was pretty sure the question, _how much rum?_ came up, but her drowning brain couldn't put the two things together. The bartender gave an answer that was all mumbles and Akaba growled something, and it seemed like the end of the conversation.

All that liquor in her belly wasn't feeling so good now, like a flask of volatile compounds being sloshed around as part of some awful chemistry experiment. An explosion was imminent. "Akaba," she whimpered once they'd breached the hallway. "I think I'm going to barf."

"You have about ten shots of rum in you so I don't blame you," he said, a bit more intelligible now that they were alone. "Just hold it in for a few more seconds."

The moment he got the door opened, Julie staggered through and scrambled to the toilet. A tidal wave of blue vomit left her stomach and she groaned, but she could tell it wasn't over yet. The sea was still stormy, far worse than it had been on the plane that morning.

"Jewels?" Akaba asked from outside the bathroom door.

"Close the door," she moaned. "I don't want you to see this."

He closed it and almost immediately, a muffled yell leaked through.

"What the hell did you do to her?" It was a voice she couldn't mistake for any other.

"Koutarou?" she muttered, and the door burst open so violently that it was obvious he had kicked it.

"Julie, are you okay?" He stooped over her and pulled her bangs off of her face. His voice sounded worried, but that could have easily been another distortion of the booze. Although his body wasn't touching hers, it was still close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from him. That was real.

Outside, Akaba was trying to explain. "Fuu, I didn't do anything to her. That idiot bartender gave her double strength cocktails."

"I'll kill 'im!" Koutarou roared. "That guy just made the most un-_smart_ move of his life!"

Julie felt the warmth behind her start to pull away and reached out an arm to grab his leg. She caught the hem of his jeans, the only part loose enough to hold onto. "Don't," she uttered miserably. "I chose to keep going back for more. So don't hurt anyone."

His body heat returned and became actual physical contact when he crouched down and rubbed her back with a large hand. His voice came out softer than normal. "Do you want me to stay here with you until you feel better?"

"Only if you want to," she said, hugging her toilet.

"Okay," he said quietly. Then his trademark boldness resurged and he barked at Akaba. "You can go play your guitar, Guitar Boy. I'll make sure she gets to bed okay."

"On her side," Akaba said sternly. "I'm going to check back in on you later, Jewels, to make sure you're okay. Drink plenty of water if you can keep it down."

Her brain was feeling a little less murky already, now that she'd pumped some of the alcohol out of her body. She'd heard the exchange between Koutarou and Akaba, and she heard the sound of the room door shutting.

"Are you done puking?" Koutarou asked her.

She took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

He helped her up from the bathroom floor and walked her over to the bed, very gingerly to avoid any jarring movements that might cause her to spew again. He even folded down the comforter and took off her shoes for her. "I'm going to go get you that water. Need me to help you get tucked in first?"

"I can manage," she told him. Why was he doing this? Why was he torturing her with sweetness that she knew, after tonight, would all go to another girl? It was only because she was drunk and he pitied her. Oh god, she was drunk, stinking drunk. Was she even saying the things she thought she was saying?

Her insides heaved as she lurched onto the bed and crawled under the comforter. She could hear a running faucet, her hydration being prepared. Julie wanted to keep her eyes open as long as she could. This might very well be the last time she ever had her best friend all to herself and she felt too wretched to even enjoy it. Lead flowed sluggishly through her arteries where her blood should be. Every part of her body was growing heavier with each heartbeat, so no matter how hard she fought to keep her eyelids open, she just couldn't do it.

She didn't even get to see Koutarou's face before falling asleep.

Despite how easy it was for her to fall asleep, it wasn't peaceful slumber. While she was sleeping, she dreamed about lying awake in bed, all alone and endlessly tired, but unable to have even a moment of rest. There was also a ridiculous lingering horror that she might have propositioned Akaba for sex. She tossed from side to side until…

Light stabbed her eyes like twin knives, shooting pain deep into her already throbbing head. Rum was liquid evil as far as she was concerned. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and her stomach felt raw and bloated. She rolled over to her other side to escape the onslaught of the wicked sun and gasped when the action brought her face-to-face with a pair of wide-open grey eyes.

"Morning, drunk-shine," Koutarou chirped, smiling just slightly.

Julie groaned. "What are you doing in my bed?"

Koutarou stretched his arms behind his head and crossed his long legs nonchalantly. At least he wasn't under the covers with her. "I was going to leave once you were settled for the night, but you just kept flailing and moaning."

"You stayed here all night?" she stammered. "You dummy! How do you suppose Jessica is going to feel about you sharing a bed with another woman?"

"She knows you're my best friend," he said. Then his brow wrinkled. "At least, I think she knows. I had Akaba explain it to her since his English is better than mine."

"You still… consider me your best friend?" she uttered. "Even after what happened… what I said at the airport?"

His slight smile expanded into a full boyish grin. "Of coarse I do, Julie. It stung at the time, but I think it was something I needed to get through my head. You will never see me as more than a friend. But that's okay. When you told me you didn't want me to stay in Japan with you, you were really saying that I need to get over my silly infatuation with you and find a girl who actually wants me. And I did. Jessica."

A pain totally unrelated to her hangover ached inside the center Julie's chest. "You really like her, huh?"

"What's not to like? She's hot. She's smart… I think. As far as I can tell, she's funny. And she's totally crazy about me." Koutarou reached over and tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear and it gave her a strange feeling of déjà vu. "I really want you and Jessica to be friends," he said. "She doesn't speak a lot of Japanese, I know. But she's trying to learn. You could help her. And I'm sure she'd love to help you learn more English. She's helping me."

Julie shrank into the cocoon of comforter. "I don't know if our schedules will really allow much time together, me and her…" It was a weak excuse, but she didn't want Koutarou to know her real misgivings about the situation.

"Oh, didn't Akaba tell you?" you said excitedly. "Daddy Long Legs is going to be the featured act on the maiden voyage of a brand new luxury cruise ship! From Honolulu to Los Angeles in a week, departure is two days from today. And you're coming!"

"I am?" This was definitely the first information anyone had given her about it.

Koutarou's head bobbed energetically. "Your room is already booked. And it's right next to mine and Jessica's. _Smart_, huh? This will be the perfect chance for the two of you to become friends. Isn't it great?"

Lying convincingly to Koutarou had never been easy for her. "Yeah, sounds wonderful," she said, with absolutely no enthusiasm. At least today she had and excuse. "Sorry I'm not more peppy. It's the hangover."

"I know, I know," he said. "Tomorrow you will be so giddy you won't be able to shut up about it, I guarantee."

_Wanna bet?_ Julie thought, but didn't dare say.

He was still smiling like a fool. It should be a crime to look so cute while breaking a girl's heart. "For today, while you're recovering from your bender, I rented a movie with Japanese subtitles that will get you into the cruise spirit. You like _Titanic_, right?"

Julie buried her face in her pillow to muffle a low groan. This had to be a bad omen.

To be continued…


	6. Why Can't We Be Friends?

Free Talk- As a respite from the really long chapters, this one is (I hope) refreshingly short. It's the pre-cruise chapter. Once the gang gets on the boat, the plot will really start to move forward, so I hope people will stick around. Thank you to everyone who has read this far, and especially those who have commented. Please continue to tell me what you think, not because I want tons of reviews, but because I really want to know how I can improve. I am constantly worried about the story getting boring or there being plot holes I may have missed. I always want to keep honing my skills and growing as a fanfic writer.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

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Chapter 6: Why Can't We Be Friends?

* * *

"How about here?" Julie pointed at the storefront in case her English wasn't clear enough.

Jessica wrinkled her nose and curled down her lower lip, as if the vintage clothing store was emanating some foul odor (which it most certainly wasn't).

With a sigh, Julie pushed open the door and went inside anyways. She had kept a smile on while accompanying Jessica into seven different upscale clothiers, and even gave her the thumbs up when she tried on all those eighty-dollar tank tops and two-hundred-dollar jeans that would only be considered hip for a matter of weeks. This was the only vintage store they had encountered and she wasn't going to let a snooty grimace keep her from enjoying it.

The store wasn't big, but the inside was filled with treasure, like a mother's jewelry box is to a little girl. It reminded her of Red Threads, which was comforting. She could definitely use a dose of familiarity considering the surreal summer vacation she was having.

It started normally (and boringly) enough, with Julie working full time and missing her best friend while he was being a rock singer halfway around the globe. Okay, maybe being friends with the members of an up-and-coming rock band wasn't exactly normal, but since it was happening so far away, it wasn't really playing a part in her daily life. He might as well have been on a family vacation in Okinawa.

That was before she'd arrived in Hawaii.

Now she was in the thick of it. She already knew that Daddy Long Legs, and especially Koutarou, were absolutely amazing, the kind of band that made you realize that music really was a form of magic. But now she'd gotten a glimpse of just how many other people knew it too and loved them. There were screaming fangirls and wild parties, the works.

Yet the celebrity aspect wasn't even the most shocking development of the summer. That honor belonged to the young woman who had finally, grudgingly, entered the store.

Looking at the girl objectively (which was more than a little difficult for Julie's biased eyes), it couldn't be denied that Jessica Coburn was very physically attractive. Slick black hair and almond-shaped eyes the color of oil slicks hinted at Asian ancestry not too far back on her family tree. Her hips were smaller than Julie's, but her chest noticeably bigger, and her limbs were long and thin and willowy. In short, she possessed all the bodily charms that drive men crazy.

Jessica's personality, on the other hand, was a bit harder to get a read on. This was mostly due to the fact that her Japanese was dreadful beyond what one would expect from a beginner just starting to learn a new language. The way she mangled sentences almost sounded like she was _trying_ to speak atrociously.

Of course, if Julie had studied English more before coming to America it could have alleviated the situation tremendously. She was trying her hardest to improve through immersion.

Even without being fluent in each other's language, though, Julie was getting the distinct impression that Jessica did not think much of her. And she clearly didn't think much of vintage clothing, with her skinny arms folded haughtily over her chest as she rolled her eyes at the racks and shelves of pre-owned merchandise.

_I'm doing this for Koutarou_, Julie reminded herself. _If I want to stay friends with him, I will have to get along with his… girlfriend._ Even in her thoughts, she choked on that word. The biggest impediment to her being friends with Jessica wasn't the language barrier or the major clash in fashion senses. It was the fact that Jessica was Koutarou's girlfriend.

Why, Julie lamented, had she not realized her own budding feelings for him until she saw him wrapped around another girl? Until after he had moved on and no longer wanted her?

Try as she might to convince herself that she was only interested in him now because he was off the market, it couldn't extinguish the excruciating ache she felt in the center of her chest any time Koutarou and Jessica kissed. And that was pretty much all they did whenever the two of them were together.

A few meters away, Jessica's long, whip-like black ponytail swished. She was flicking through a rack of dresses from past decades, pausing on each just long enough to make a different face of disgust.

How could the girl not find one thing to like in this store? Julie had already struck gold several times: A rare Geronimo Jackson tee for Akaba and a metal lunch box featuring an old television show called _Get Smart_ that she knew would make Koutarou grin. She even uncovered a gorgeous pair of oversized tortoiseshell sunglasses for herself, the perfect cruise accessory.

Red leather pumps tapped out an impatient beat on the tile floor, Jessica's way of saying 'hurry up' that needed no translation.

Sighing very softly, Julie went to the counter to pay. With the exception of these purchases, the day of shopping had not yielded spectacular results. If anything, the outing had only made Jessica frostier to her, now that it was clear that she didn't share the same enthusiasm for chasing the newest and most disposable fashion trends. And she hadn't really learned anything new about the girl. All she had was the little bit of info Koutarou had provided during their ominous viewing of _Titanic_ the day before.

Jessica was twenty-one years old, which explained how she was able to procure all that liquor for the party, and her birthday was, in Koutarou's words, "June-ish." He was also quite happy to share the fact that his girlfriend's bra size was 34D and that she was a great kisser, details Julie could have lived without. But other than that, he didn't have much to say, and soon he was too distracted by the shocking turn of events that the Titanic was actually sinking. Apparently, he had never made it past the halfway point of the film before. Or paid close attention in history class for that matter.

This was just a slow start though, and Julie was determined not to give up. Beginning tomorrow they would all be on a cruise ship together for a whole week, and she was going to make friends with Jessica even if it killed her.

When the mismatched duo arrived back at the hotel, after a tensely silent cab ride, they went straight up to the ninth floor and caught Koutarou at the end of the hallway as he was unlocking the suite door. He turned at the sound of footsteps (still no talking between the girls) and beamed.

Julie couldn't help but smile back at him, a rock star, but still the Koutarou she'd known for years. Then her grin wilted when Jessica launched herself into his arms and she realized, with a twinge of embarrassment, that she wasn't the one that adorable smile was aimed at.

The making out commenced immediately and Julie's eyes raced to the floor for sanctuary. It didn't help much as she could still hear the revoltingly wet slurping and smacking noises. Would clamming her hands over her ears make it too obvious that she hated being a witness to this? Would they even notice? And of course they were blocking the entrance to her room as well.

Near her feet were the five full shopping bags that Jessica had shed before pouncing on Koutarou. How could she afford so many expensive clothes? Wasn't she a college student? There were so many things she wanted to ask the girl if she only knew how to say them.

"Hey, Julie." Koutarou managed to free his mouth long enough to speak. "You mind carrying Jess's stuff in? Her hands are a bit full here."

She opened her mouth to say, in more polite phrasing, that Jess could pry her nasty hands away from him for the ten seconds it would take to carry her own damn bags, but Koutarou cut her off before she even made a sound, mumbling, "Thanks," as he and Jessica backed into the suite.

Wearing a frown that she knew nobody would notice, Julie snatched up the shopping bags roughly and trudged in behind them. As she dumped them unceremoniously into an empty chair, she glimpsed Jess pulling a credit card from her tacky little purse and handing it to Koutarou, who tucked it into his wallet.

So that's where her money came from.

Angry flames licked under Julie's ribs and she breathed deeply for the small relieve it provided. _It doesn't concern me. This is between him and her. They have some sort of agreement._ Her attempts at self-soothing had mixed results. She wouldn't say anything, of course, but she still itched to know if Koutarou had any idea how much of his money Jessica was spending. Today alone she must have bought over two thousand dollars worth of clothes.

As the kissing and groping resumed without a single word exchanged, Julie gritted her teeth and got out the door as quickly as possible. She could give Koutarou his gift sometime on the boat.

It was meant as hyperbole when she first thought it, but right now she felt like befriending Jessica really just might be what killed her.

To be continued…


	7. More Than a Feeling

Free Talk- No free talk. The chapter is long enough already. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

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Chapter 7: More Than a Feelin

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The female fans showed up in droves to see Daddy Long Legs off, so many that they had to be kept at bay by one of the ship's security officers. But nothing would stop them from screaming their devotion from behind the barrier ropes, mostly for Koutarou, but the other members each had their own little cult following. Akaba's fan club was particularly visible, as a number of girls sported hair dyed his signature shade of cherry red with contact lenses to match.

He gave them a nod and a wave as he walked up the ramp and onto the boat, and they seemed satisfied. Koutarou, on the other hand, was soaking up the attention like a sponge in water. With little regard for the other passengers trying to board, he stopped halfway up the ramp, spun around and pointed a long finger at the gaggle of girls.

"Just watch!" He shouted. "I'll show the world I'm the _number one singer_!" The last three words he said in English and his admirers shrieked with joy.

Like a swooping hawk, Jessica was at his side, grabbing his arm possessively in her talons and dragging him the rest of the way onto the cruise ship. All he could do was flash his audience a sheepish smile over his shoulder and wave a bit awkwardly before his girlfriend tugged him out of their sights.

Julie shook her head as she followed behind. If the girl was that bothered by loud declarations and public displays of enthusiasm, she sure picked the wrong guy to date.

Her cabin on the boat was not huge, but it was cute, and clean since there hadn't been any previous occupants. A large vase of fresh Hawaiian flowers had been placed on the dresser; pink hibiscus, the same as the lei that Akaba had given her. There was also an enormous basket of local fruit.

A twinge of guilt stitched in Julie's stomach. She couldn't growl at Jess for spending Koutarou's money when she was being treated to such an indulgent vacation. She tried to put it out of her mind as she unzipped her travel bag and fished for a sketchbook, eager to draw some Polynesian inspired dresses while her memories of the island were still as fresh as the flowers.

Right after she'd gotten comfortable on the bed, as soon as she first touched pencil to paper, an energetic knock shook the door.

_Knock-ta-TOCK-TOCK-TOCK!_

There was familiarity to the rhythm and Julie let out one of the gentle sighs she kept in reserve for just one person as she set aside her art supplies and went to let him in. To her immense relief, Koutarou was by himself outside her door.

"Smart accommodations, huh?" He scanned her room proudly as she stepped aside to let him in, as if he had built the ship himself. His nose wrinkled when his eyes settled on the dresser. "How come you get flowers in your room? I didn't get flowers."

Julie smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't realize you were such a fan of pretty pink flowers." He pouted childishly and she rolled her eyes. "Here." Reaching the dresser in three small steps, she plucked a joined pair of flowers from the arrangement and tucked them into Koutarou's spiky black mane.

His cheeks tinged to a shade closer to that of the flowers. "I look silly, don't I?"

"No, no," she assured him, in a voice that was a bit too giggly to be believable. "You look… cute. Pink is a good color for you."

He beamed his point-after-touchdown grin at her. "You really think so? Maybe I should pick something pink to wear for tomorrow night's show."

"Tomorrow night?" Julie asked.

"Yep. It's our big cruise kick-off concert." He stretched his arms over his head. "People are still getting settled tonight, but they'll be ready for a good show tomorrow. I have to seriously think about pink, though. You're the fashion expert after all. As long as it doesn't clash with my bracelet." He pulled his hand back down so he could admire it.

Warmth kissed Julie's face. "Still wearing it?"

"I wouldn't be able to sing without it."

Even though he had a girlfriend, there was always a little part of his childhood friend with him on stage. It made Julie feel happier than anything else in the last forty-eight hours had. Then she remembered that she had another gift for him.

"I almost forgot," she chimed. She retrieved the metal lunchbox from one of her bags and presented it to him. "I saw this at a secondhand store and it made me think of you."

Koutarou turned it in his hands, fascinated. "This guy holding a sneaker to his ear like a telephone reminded you of me? You must think I'm pretty dumb."

"Not the guy, the words," she groaned.

"_Get Smart_," he read out loud, and his face lit up. "Smart! That is so… _smart_! I love it!" With eager fingers he pried open the lunchbox and pulled out the matching thermos. "Is this where the rice goes?"

Old habit got the better of Julie and she pressed her hand over her lips as laughter poured out between them. "It's not a bento, silly. It's American, and from the nineteen-sixties. That's a thermos. It's how a kid would take milk, or juice, or soup with lunch."

"Miso with lunch," Koutarou mused. "Smart! But I think I'm going to use this lunchbox as a treasure chest instead, keep my most important things in it."

"I'm glad you like it." It was such a sweet little moment, watching Koutarou hug her present to his chest, flowers in his hair. Of course something had to cut it short.

_Tock-Tock_

This knock was so much calmer than the previous one. A cold lump of dread slid down Julie's esophagus. Jessica. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Yeah, who is it?" Koutarou reiterated with just a slight edge of annoyance.

A very familiar, very male voice responded from outside. "It's Akaba. But I can come back later if I'm _interrupting_ something."

Julie let him in right away as Koutarou scowled. "What's happening?" she asked cheerfully.

Akaba didn't answer right away. His eyes found the hibiscus in Koutarou's hair and his lips tightened for a moment then relaxed again before he spoke. "I just got an interesting phone call," he said. "From a man named Lorne Michaels."

"A guy named Lauren?" Koutarou snorted.

Ignoring him, Akaba turned towards Julie and continued. "He produces a popular live comedy show for American television, called _Saturday Night Live,_ and he asked me if Daddy Long Legs would perform _Kick Shock_ on an end-of-summer special."

Koutarou snapped to attention. "We're going to play on American TV?"

"I told him we would," said Akaba. "It's in two weeks, and it's going to be live. Are you going to be okay singing on live national television?"

An insulted grumble slipped out from behind Koutarou's teeth. "What do you mean by that? Haven't I done an awesome job singing in every show on this tour?"

"Yes," Akaba said rationally. "But all of our audiences so far have numbered in hundreds, thousands in Hawaii because of the large Japanese Hawaiian population, but that's still a far cry from the millions who will be watching you on television."

"Millions?" Koutarou's face blanched; he swallowed once and steeled his expression. "I can handle it. As long as I have Elvis' lucky bracelet… I could sing in front of the whole world!" With that assertion, he had restored his own confidence to full power.

"That's the spirit," Julie said, masking any lingering concern with a big smile. She knew all too well that over confidence had not always been kind to him in the past. "And it's not like you will be able to see the millions. As long as you relax and just treat it like all your other concerts, I know you'll be amazing."

"Amazing?" he uttered hopefully.

In that moment, Julie's eyes and Koutarou's eyes connected, brown and grey, as if an invisible electric current was running between them. Her heart beat faster, the way it always did when she watched the football soar in a graceful arc off his foot and through the uprights.

_Knock-Knock-Knock-Knock-Knock_

Just like before, the karmic forces of the universe wouldn't let them share a tender moment. This knock was as demanding as one of Koutarou's but with none of his zeal. Before Julie even had time to speculate who it was this time (and the possibilities were dwindling), the guest announced herself in a voice that was just a half-note below shrill.

"Koutarou? Are you inside?"

His response was something between a sigh and a groan, an odd reaction to the arrival of one's beloved. "I'm coming." Shoulders drooping slightly, he walked to the door and opened it.

Dark eyes narrowed on the flowers in Koutarou's hair, darted to the vase full of matching blossoms and then back, making the connection immediately. "Idiot," she sniffed in Japanese.

Koutarou smiled sheepishly and pulled them out.

Jessica changed targets to the lunchbox he was still clutching to his chest. "Come back to our room I'll give you better present," she said seductively, hooking her arms around his elbow. Just before she dragged him out the door, she shot Julie a glare that chilled her to the marrow.

"Uh, see you guys later, I guess," Koutarou mumbled in the last moment before the door closed.

When Julie exhaled it felt like smoke was pouring from her nostrils, but she tried to keep herself composed. "She shouldn't be calling him an idiot." Her restrained fury made the words come out stiff.

"Don't you call him an idiot all the time?" Akaba pointed out.

"But when I say it I mean idiot in a cute way," she defended. "And I never glower at him when I say it. And how about that look she gave me before she left? Did you see that? It was like she thought I'd kidnapped him or something."

Akaba stared at her. "Wow, Jewels. I have never seen you like this."

"Like what?"

"Jealous," he replied, saying the word like it was some rare and baffling disease.

"I'm not jealous," she insisted, desperately wanting to believe it. "I just can't stand that woman. And I don't trust her intentions with Koutarou one bit." Jealous or not, that much was true and it felt good to express it to someone.

"Intentions?" His voice wasn't skeptical but intrigued.

"I think she's suspicious." She'd dropped her voice to nearly a whisper as it seemed appropriate for this conversation. "To me it almost seems…" Shame snagged her voice mid-sentence. She had no proof, just gut instinct that could very well be the byproduct of that despicable emotion called jealousy.

"What is it?" Akaba encouraged.

The utter lack of condemnation in his voice made it easy for Julie to tell him exactly how she felt. "I have this _feeling_… that Jessica is just trying to keep Koutarou distracted with, well, her body, so that she can spend his money. Did you know that she uses Koutarou's credit card to buy herself new clothes?"

Akaba blinked his red eyes. "Are you sure?" She nodded and he asked another question. "Does he know?"

Fidgeting in her spot slightly, she answered. "Well, yes…"

"Then there's really nothing we can do," he sighed. "If he chooses to fund her shopping sprees. I will have to have a talk with him about financial responsibility though. Most of the band's money is handled by me, but we can't have him racking up debt."

Julie paused for a moment to think. "There's other stuff about her that doesn't seem quite right. The way she talks is weird. I mean when she tries to use Japanese."

"Her Japanese _is_ awful," said Akaba.

"Yes," she agreed. "But have you noticed that it's always awful in the same way? She always confuses the same particles and uses the same wrong verb forms. Something about it seems almost… deliberate."

"Deliberate?" Akaba raised and eyebrow. "You mean, you think her Japanese is better than she lets on?"

"I… I don't know. Maybe." Julie looked down at her feet. "Maybe my brain is just so desperate to paint her as a villain that it's playing tricks on me. I guess I can't deny that I really am… jealous."

Akaba took a step closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's an undeniable part of being human to feel jealous when the person you are infatuated with is infatuated with someone else. What matters is how we handle it."

"I'm not _infatuated_ with him," she stated, though she could feel a betraying blush start to well beneath the skin of her cheeks. "Koutarou is just _special_. And I don't think Jessica even realizes it. That woman… She's not good enough for him!" Only when it was all out of her mouth did Julie realize just how loud her voice had gotten.

"Easy, Jewels." Akaba's tone was soothing, but his face looked vaguely amused (a much subtler emotion on him than on most people).

It made Julie pout. She wasn't trying to act like a loon. "The worst part of all this is that I can't even tell him how I feel without making him hate me. There's an ironclad rule that, unless the person has done something illegal or immoral, you aren't supposed to tell your best friend that you hate their lover. And I've got no solid evidence to back me up. I don't want to be some petty, jealous harpy."

"I know you aren't," he told her. "If I wasn't bound by similar social codes, I probably would have lambasted Jess to him right after they hooked up. If her presence made him act like a dick I might have a fair case. But…" A crippling wave of defeat washed through Julie's blood stream, wilting her, and Akaba gave the shoulder he was still touching a few reassuring pats. "I'll see if I can weave some of your concerns into the money talk I'm going to give him."

"You won't tell him I can't stand her, right?"

"Of course not." He took a step back. "For now, how about you and I go for a walk together around the deck and talk about anything besides Koutarou and Jessica?"

He made a good offer, but Julie's heart just wasn't into it. "Thanks, Akaba, but I think I'm going to stay in and draw tonight. I have some dress designs I want to get out of my head and onto paper. Some other time though."

"Okay." His voice was so calm it was impossible to tell if he was disappointed or perhaps relieved that he wouldn't have the task of cheering up a frustrated and lovesick girl.

When the door closed behind his exit, she reclaimed her spot on the bed and covered her ears with headphones to rule out even the smallest possibility of hearing Koutarou and Jessica doing _anything_ in the room next to hers. She put her Daddy Long Legs playlist on repeat and drew all evening until her sketchbook was full.

On day two of the cruise she did take that walk around the ship, but not with Akaba; rehearsal was keeping the band members tied up for hours on end. She made the circuit on her own, taking the time to savor the smell of salt that the wind whisked up from the ocean. It had made her sad to leave Hawaii after only three days (two of them sober), but this wasn't so bad either. She even got to see dolphins off the starboard side.

That was in the morning. By the afternoon Julie had made a firm resolution to enjoy her setting, even if she didn't enjoy the situation. Clad in her bathing suit, a stylish white one-piece, and her new old tortoiseshell sunglasses, she headed for the pool to enjoy the abundant sunshine.

Since she was 'with the band,' she got to use the private pool, which was calm and clear and free of screaming children. The only guests there were quietly sunbathing adults, but one amongst them stood out. Stretched on a striped deckchair, in a tiny red bikini that could barely contain her, was Jessica Coburn.

_Koutarou was not exaggerating when he described her measurements. Oi! They're melons. Can't let that get to me though. Right now is a perfect chance to practice my acting. Doing it for Koutarou._

Julie put on a genial smile, rehearsing English in her head as she set her towel on the chair right next to Jessica's. "Hey, Jess," she chirped. "Mind if I join you?"

Jessica pulled her undoubtedly expensive shades down her nose a centimeter, just enough to shoot Julie a disinterested look. "Free country," she said simply. As her gaze dropped down from Julie's face to her swimwear, a little smirk came onto her lips. "Old fashioned."

Not about to let a snide comment affect her, Julie smoothed her hands over her hips and smiled confidently. "Timeless," she replied in a single word. Nobody could make her doubt her sense of style. Now it was time to be gracious. "Shall we swim?" she asked, extending her arm like a metaphorical olive branch.

The way Jessica reacted you'd think she'd been invited to roll in manure. "No way. I won't get wet, ruin my hair and bikini." She pointed at her bathing suit and said, in the sort of loud, slow voice one would use with a dog or a preschooler, "Expensive."

Well at least 'old fashioned' swimsuits were allowed to get wet. Right now the clear blue water looked too enticing to pass up for any reason. Turning her back on Jessica and the whole goodwill mission, Julie walked to the edge of the pool and eased in. The water was the perfect temperature; made her wonder why everyone else was staying high and dry instead of enjoying it.

After several minutes of relaxation, a sudden feeling of impending doom seized Julie. She looked all around, but nothing was out of place, the scene was perfectly peaceful. Then she heard it.

"Smart cannonball!"

There was no time for her to react before a human projectile in red shorts launched from the ledge of the pool and hit the water less than a meter away from her with a geyser-like splash. Her hair was soaked and dripping, which wasn't a big deal to her, but she could hear Koutarou laughing uproariously anyways.

"I got you good," he said triumphantly. "You should have seen the look on your face when that spray hit you. Priceless."

Julie rolled her eyes. "You got me wet in a swimming pool. Congratulations." He grinned at her and she shook her head, chuckling softly. "You are such a dork, Koutarou. So I guess you're finished with rehearsal?"

"Yep, just in time to take a dip before the show. It's going to be awesome, by the way." His soggy mane and the buoyant expression he wore reminded Julie of one of those big dogs that retrieves birds from the water. Koutarou must have been a puppy in a past life.

"Of course it'll be great," she told him. "So were you planning to swim laps, or just hang out in the water?"

He gave a dismissive sniff. "Swimming laps is not smart. That's what that Mizumachi guy would probably do. No, I just want to enjoy being wet. Hey, I know! Let's play our secret game."

"I can't believe you still remember that," Julie uttered. Their 'secret game' was not called such because they kept it a secret from others. In fact, a lot of kids probably played their own version of it, the game where you take turns sharing stupid secrets under water. "We can play it if you want," she said.

"Great! Me first!" He took a deep breath and sank under the surface of the water and Julie followed. His secret came out as a stream of bubbles, the way a fish might talk, but she understood.

When their heads popped back into the atmosphere, she frowned at him. "You really should buy Akaba a new toothbrush after that."

Koutarou snorted. "The toilet was _clean_ when I knocked it in. Besides, he's been using it for a week now. The damage is already done. Alright, now you have to say a secret."

If she wanted to go with a real secret, there were plenty to choose from: It turns out I do have feelings for you that go beyond friendship. I think your girlfriend is a stuck up, spoiled brat. I wrote the lyrics to the song that launched your music career.

Of course, it didn't really matter what she said; Koutarou had always been absolutely terrible at this game. Just in case he'd improved in the years since they last played (probably not since middle school), she decided to go with something that wasn't really a secret, but still something she had never told him.

They sank into the water in synchrony and she let the words gurgle out. _"I think you're the most amazing singer in the entire world!"_ Through the bubbles she could read confusion on Koutarou's face and it remained there when they surfaced.

"Hey what did you say about my dad?" he stammered. "It better not have been something bad. My old man is totally smart! He…"

Julie cut him off with a playful flick on his nose. "It wasn't about your dad at all, silly. It was about you. I said that you're the most amazing singer in the world. You aren't going to deny it, are you?"

Koutarou's whole face glowed and he rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think so? I mean, yeah, I know I'm pretty good, not as good as I am at kicking… But the best in the world? Really?"

"I think so," she said.

He blinked at her a moment and then a wicked little smile blossomed on his face. "That still doesn't mean you can flick me!" he whooped, slapping a wave of water in her face. From there it took less than three seconds for a full-on water fight to erupt, the two of them laughing from their bellies like children as they chased each other around the pool.

For Julie, it was pure bliss. She was twelve again; just frolicking with her exasperating but lovable best friend and completely ignoring the disdainful looks from the adults whose peace they were upsetting. In the blink of an eye, Koutarou vanished into the water and a half-second later, she felt his arms ensnare her from behind.

"Caught ya!" he whispered in her ear.

A wonderful shudder danced on Julie's spine as she became acutely aware of every centimeter of Koutarou's wet body that was touching hers. Physical contact with him had never had such a powerful affect on her before. It was embarrassing, exhilarating; her heart was pounding.

"Julie," he said softly when she had been silent for too long.

"Yeah?" she breathed back, terrified to turn around and face him.

"I…"

"Kouta-chaaaaaan!"

Jessica's cloying wail shattered the mood like a high pitched note does to a crystal wine glass. Koutarou's arms instantly released and Julie scrambled out guiltily.

"Oh, hey Jess," he said. "I didn't even know you were here at the pool." She tilted her head and he spoke again in loud English. "I not knowing you were at pool."

She responded with a chortle of bad Japanese. "Kouta is so stupid. You not need to play with neighbor girl now. Jessica is here."

"Yeah, I guess not," he said.

Now it may have just been the delusions of wishful ears, but Julie couldn't help thinking that he didn't sound particularly excited at his girlfriend's arrival. She had sworn not to interfere with the relationship as long as Koutarou was happy. But if he wasn't happy she might have to rethink that oath.

No matter how he felt about the girl, Jessica was now on him like a barnacle and Julie had a powerful urge to get far, far away. "I think I'm going to go back to my room," she announced. "I've got water in my ears and I think I can see some pink on my shoulders," both lies.

"Oh, okay," Koutarou said. "You're coming to the show tonight, though, right."

She assured him with a smile. "I wouldn't miss it for the world.

As she toweled off at her chair, Julie tried not to look towards the pool, wholly uninterested in whatever those two might be doing. In their aversion, her eyes found Jessica's pool bag, another cool-for-ten-minutes accessory, and out of curiosity, she peered inside. There was a bottle of pricy tanning oil, her sunglasses, an American celebrity gossip magazine, and one thing that definitely didn't fit in. It was a book. In Japanese.

Julie's gaze darted to the scene she'd been avoiding. Koutarou and Jess were occupied (she didn't care to dwell on the details), so she surreptitiously pulled out the book, a paperback aimed at young women, definitely not something Koutarou would ever read. She opened it up. The text didn't have a pronunciation key. This book was for fluent speakers.

Her pulse quickened. This was a major find. The discovery of the book didn't prove anything definitively; there was always the chance of a bizarre explanation. But it could certainly be considered evidence, strong evidence even, that the bad vibes Julie was getting about Jessica weren't all in her head.

She returned it to the bag exactly as she found it and raced back to her room.

_What do I do from here? Should I confront her and ask about it? Tell Koutarou?_

This was such an unusual situation that there was no prescribed way of handling it, but at least Julie had an intelligent confidant to consult with. She went straight past her own door and rapped her knuckles on Akaba's.

Nobody answered.

She continued knocking intermittently for a full two minutes with no sign of life from inside. _Dammit! He must still be rehearsing._

Through her nose she dragged oxygen into her lungs, rationality into her brain. Yes, this was important, but it wasn't an emergency. Whatever Jessica's intentions were in hiding her knowledge of Japanese (assuming, of course, that there wasn't some other wild reason for her to have that book), she hadn't brought about any physical harm to anyone. Nobody would be in imminent danger if things just stayed as they were while Julie tried to figure this all out.

She opened the door to her own room, still breathing in and out slowly from her nostrils. Even though she'd calmed herself significantly, the urge to take some kind of action still crackled like live wire strung through her limbs.

Before even changing out of her bathing suit, she picked up her cell phone and speed dialed Akaba. Ten rings and then it went to voicemail, but before the beep at the end of his recorded message, Akaba picked up.

"Sorry about that. It's a little bit loud here. So what's up Jewels?"

Behind his voice, a bass guitar twanged. "Hey Akaba, I won't keep you from your practice too long, but…" She wasn't sure how much to tell him on the phone. "When you have time I need to talk to you. In person." That would be the best way.

"You sound a little tweaked," he said. "Are you sure you're okay? If this is an emergency I'll be right there."

"It's not an emergency," she replied in a quick, high voice. "It's important, but not an emergency. Your music should come first."

There was a drawn out silence on Akaba's side of the phone, the sound of him deliberating. "Okay," he finally said, serene as a monk. "The show starts in three hours. Meet me backstage in two. You know where that is, right?"

The rest of the conversation was him giving her directions and asking one last time if she was really going to be okay waiting to say whatever it is she had to say. "Are you sure you don't want to just tell me over the phone?"

"I'm sure," she answered, nodding even though he couldn't see her. "It has to be absolutely private."

"Alright, well, I'll see you in two hours then. Goodbye."

"Yeah, bye. Oh, and, uh… just keep an eye out for Jessica. In case she does anything… strange…"

Two hours was a bearable wait, especially after she subtracted the portion she would spend showering and getting ready for the concert. Two hours was more than enough time for her imagination to fertilize the little seed of evidence she'd found and grow all kinds of wild theories. By the time she was leaving her room, government conspiracy didn't seem impossible.

And she used to be such a sensible person. At least Akaba would talk some sanity into her.

A heavily muscled guard was standing outside the door she needed to pass through. "Name?" he grunted in a voice that matched his build.

"Sawai," she squeaked, hoping that he'd been told about her visit. "Julie Sawai? I'm here to see…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled, opening the door for her. "Go on, get inside."

The moment she stepped inside she heard her name shouted. "Julie! Smart timing!"

"Koutarou," she uttered, surprised to see him backstage so early. "I, uh, I'm actually here to see Akaba. He and I…"

His hands fisted in his hair. "Gah! Stupid Akaba can wait. This is an emergency!" The look on his face matched his claim, shear panic.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked urgently.

"My lucky bracelet! Elvis' bracelet! I forgot to put it on after coming back from the pool!" He disheveled his hair frantically with both hands, definitely an indication that things were not right. "Not smart! So not smart!"

If it were anyone else, Julie might have suggested that his girlfriend should be the one to fetch it for him. But she was the one who'd convinced him that the bracelet was his key to confidence. She was the one who had gotten him dependent on some useless object. And she would get him through the crisis of losing it.

"Alright, where is it?" she asked.

"It's in the thermos in my treasure chest in my suitcase in the closet in my room," he answered very quickly. Then he pulled something from his pocket. "Here's the room key."

She nodded determinedly. "If you see Akaba just tell him I'm going to be a few minutes late."

"Can do," he said. "Oh, and Julie? Thanks." He leaned over and pressed a small kiss to her forehead that almost made her forget her mission.

She touched the spot with her fingertips, blinked several times, and came to her senses, flying out the door on winged feet. The stage was near the front end of the ship. Their rooms were at the very tail. Swiftness was required if she was going to make it back in time to talk to Akaba.

It didn't help her quest that almost everyone aboard the cruise ship was heading _towards_ the stage to get a good seat for the show. Julie did her best to weave between them without any collisions, and thankfully the traffic eased the further she got from the front of the ship.

Her hands were inept getting the key into the key into the lock; it took about twice as long as it should have. She was trying to hustle, yes, but her body was operating like she had ten minutes to diffuse a bomb, not one hour to retrieve a bracelet.

_Stupid Koutarou_, she thought as she finally got the door opened. _Why'd he have to have that panicked look on his face? It infected me. That guy is going to give me a nervous breakdown one day, I swear. The things he puts me through…_

An unmade queen-size bed filled up most of the room and a viciously tight knot tied itself in Julie's stomach when she realized the sheets were a mess from Koutarou and that woman sleeping there. It took considerable effort not to think about it.

"Alright, in the thermos in the treasure chest in the suitcase in the closet." She repeated his directions out loud as she followed them. She found the closet, found his suitcase, unzipped it.

And found nothing.

"It's not in here!" she hissed through her teeth. "But this is his suitcase, his clothes are in it."

Maybe he'd stashed it in the wrong one. Dare she look in Jessica's suitcase? It did bear enough resemblance to Koutarou's to warrant a search. Was the bracelet really that important? The scene from over a year ago, Koutarou dropkicking the karaoke microphone at Blue Monday, replayed in Julie's head. She had no other choice.

Jess' bag was absolutely stuffed with clearly female clothes, making it hard to believe that Koutarou could make such a mistake. Julie dug in anyway. Her best friend's music career was at stake. She felt something solid beneath a folded pair of jeans and flung them out of the way.

"CDs?" Her forehead creased as she examined the find that was definitely not what she was looking for. She would have put them right back and continued her hunt elsewhere, but there was something decidedly strange about these CDs that kept her staring at them.

Like the book from earlier, the CDs were in Japanese. This couldn't be considered evidence in the same way, though. Knowledge of the language was not prerequisite for enjoying the music. This whole rock and roll adventure was proof of that. It was the photo of the singer on the cover that piqued Julie's interest, a sweet-faced young girl dressed in punkish Lolita style clothing. Copious layers of makeup had been painted around her eyes, but she seemed vaguely familiar.

Julie read the artist's name out loud. "Kobane Shika." It sounded kind of familiar too. Her eyes focused in closely on the girl's face as she said the name again, with slightly different inflection. "Koban Eshika. Coburn, Jessica."

Suddenly the name matched the face. Ice flowed through Julie's arteries. "Jessica is… a Japanese singer?"

"A quarter Japanese, actually."

Julie spun. Jessica was standing near the doorway with a smug grin. She was speaking in fluent Japanese and in one of her hands was the _Get Smart_ lunchbox, Koutarou's treasure chest.

The sound Julie made was like a growl of anger and a gasp of shock at once. "You… You've lying to everyone this whole time!"

Jessica clucked her tongue. "So I'm a liar. And you are a nosy, interfering little bitch." Her voice transformed into a snarl as she spoke. "I knew you would be a big pain in my ass as soon I lay eyes on you, but I didn't think you'd get around to spying on my so soon. I thought it would take at least a week."

"I didn't come here to spy," Julie spat. "I came here for…"

"This?" Jessica swung the lunchbox in front of her. "Ah yes, yet another gift you gave to your dear childhood friend. But I assume it's the worthless bracelet inside that you are really after. Am I right?"

"Koutarou needs it to sing. Now give it to me, _Shika_!" Julie's vision tinged red. She pounced at Jessica, but the girl deftly stepped out of the way and shook with witchy laughter when Julie crashed into the door.

"Aren't you at all curious about my motives?" she asked.

Julie was rubbing her forehead where it made contact with the door. "You're going to tell me everything when I expose all your lies to Koutarou," she growled. "Right now I just need that bracelet." She made another lunge, but Jessica dodged again.

Now it had become a chase. Jess was remarkably agile. When Julie thought she had her cornered, she vaulted over the bed and made a dash for the door. "I'll never let you have it!" she cackled.

Julie's heart galloped as she ran as fast as she could after Jessica, into the hallway and out onto the deserted deck. The chase took her to the very back of the ship, where Jessica was leaning over the railing and dangling the lunchbox precariously over the ocean, which was dyed orange by the setting sun.

"I have absolutely no reason not to drop this into the Pacific and be done with it," she said. "It would probably be good for that big idiot to be rid of this. After all, you did break his heart before he came to America. Funny isn't it, Julie? How you set Koutarou up for me. You made him such an easy target."

"You're disgusting!" Julie roared. At the same time she dove the last meter forward, and this time was successful, both hands gripping onto the metal box before Jessica had a chance to drop it. But if it wasn't into the water, Jess was not going to let go.

The two girls wrestled, neither giving up one finger of her hold on the lunchbox. The pulling on both sides and the shuffling of feet moved the struggle away from the railing, which relieved Julie of her fear that the box would go overboard.

"Just give it up, Shika!" she growled. "You're busted either way. And everything that's happening now is being caught on a security camera."

"I will not give in to an ugly girl like you!" Jessica's teeth were bared like a feral animal's. "That guy really is a moron, getting all mushy over _you_ when he has me. The only thing uglier than your face is your hideous wardrobe."

"You wouldn't know fashion if it bit you on the ass! And Koutarou is NOT a moron!"

"Julie! Jess! What the hell is going on?"

The sound of Koutarou's voice made Jessica relinquish her claim on the lunch box and Julie, still pulling with all her might, stumbled backwards. "Koutarou," she panted. "Thank goodness you're…"

"Oh Kouta! It's so awful!" Jess had already flung herself at him and was squealing in her very fake bad Japanese. "Julie try to attack me. She jealous of you love me."

Koutarou shoved her away and Julie felt a burst of triumph in her chest. "Julie would never attack someone for something stupid like that. You're lying to me."

"Yes!" Julie stammered. "I never attacked her. She was trying to throw your treasure chest overboard. And! She speaks perfect Japanese!"

"What?" Koutarou's face stretched wide with shock. He grabbed Jessica by the arms and glared at her. "Is this true? Is it?"

Jessica just stared for a moment and then she broke down blubbering in the most overly dramatic manner, clinging to the front of Koutarou's shirt. "It's true. It's true. But… I just wanted you to feel like you had won over a real American hottie after that Japanese bitch rejected you." She twisted her neck to shoot a snarl at Julie. "And I only was going to throw out that box because it was from _her_ and I wanted you to be able to move on. I swear that's the truth! I love you!"

"Get the hell away from him."

Every eye turned to the voice of a new arrival.

"Akaba!" Julie gasped. "You're here too?"

"When you didn't come back right away, Koutarou got worried and went looking for you. Then I had to go look for him. Julie, when you told me your suspicions about Jessica I started doing some research in my spare time." He turned to Koutarou. "Your girlfriend isn't who she says she is. She was a failed idol singer in Japan."

Julie was at Akaba's side in an instant to back him up. "That's right! Her real name is Kobane Shika. She's just been using you for your money and fame so she can try to re-launch her career." Apparently Julie didn't need to have the motive explained to her. It all just came together through her intuition.

The wounded look on Koutarou's face was excruciating. "You mean… You never even liked me?" There was a squeak in his voice. His focus shifted to Julie and Akaba. "And you guys? How long have you known?"

"We just found out," Akaba assured him. "But Jewels was suspicious from the get-go. Her intuition is the reason I looked into it. She was really worried about you."

"Really?" Koutarou's face softened, grey eyes sparkled. "Thanks."

"I hate to have to cut things short," Akaba interrupted. "I know we all have a lot of questions that need answers, but right now there's a concert about to start with just a bassist and a drummer."

"Crap! That's right!" Koutarou shouted. "But what are we going to do with Miss Pants-On-Fire here?" His fingers were still wrapped tight around Jessica's arms and he shook her slightly to emphasize the question.

Akaba scratched his chin, one of his almost imperceptible smiles barely showing on his lips. "I think we have time to stop by the ship's police station on our way. They'll keep an eye on this one until we come back to interrogate her."

Jessica snorted arrogantly. "On what charges could they hold me? Carrying a concealed language?"

"Stealing," Julie answered, hugging Koutarou's lunchbox protectively to her chest.

There was a moment of pure silence that slowly gave way to a growing sound deep inside Jessica's chest, the growl of a beast about to attack. But Julie recognized it too late. Jessica had thrashed out of Koutarou's grasp and was hurtling at her like a bullet.

How was this woman so damn fast?

Julie felt two things instantaneously, Akaba's arms roping around her and Koutarou's lunchbox being wrenched from her arms. It sailed in a high curve from where Jessica threw it towards the back of the ship. Koutarou sprinted after it, arms extended.

"Not smart! I'm a kicker not a receiver!"

The moment he jumped up onto the second bar of the guardrail, Julie felt her heart stop. In a maneuver similar to Jessica's she struggled free from Akaba's hold and ran to him as quickly as her legs would take her. "Koutarou! Get Back!" She hooked her arms around his midsection just as he was leaning out to catch his treasure chest.

He caught it with a proud exclamation. "Smart catch!"

Then his body pitched forward, tottered. Julie felt him slipping through her arms and squeezed tighter. She stepped up onto the guardrail, determined not to let go of him no matter what. Suddenly her shoes lost their grip, they were both upside down, and the orange ocean was racing up towards them.

To be continued…


	8. Refugee

Free Talk- After being jerked around quite a bit by a malfunctioning login page, I am pleased to be posting the newest chapter. Thank you to those who have been reading and especially those who have taken the time to review. Please do not feel hesitant to give me constructive criticism where I need it. It's the only way I will learn. Anyways, I hope this chapter is exciting and enjoyable. This story is quickly turning into an adventure. Please tell me what you think (if they ever get the site working properly again), and recommend it to your friends if you think they would like it. Thanks for the support.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 8: Refugee

* * *

Julie barely had time to fill her lungs with oxygen before the surface of the ocean knocked it back out. She'd never been slapped across the face before, but the impact was exactly how she imagined it would feel to slapped across her whole body, with a wet palm the size of a kitchen table.

The speed at which they hit plunged her and Koutarou deep. There was no way she could have kept her hold on him. Her arms were needed to desperate flail to the surface and get air, if she could find what direction the surface was. Brine stung her eyes and blurred her vision, but there was an orange glow and she kicked her legs to propel herself towards it.

The first thing she heard when her ears were above water was her name being shouted by Koutarou's voice.

"Julie! Julie, are you hurt?" He kicked over to her and reached out a hand. "Grab onto me so we don't get separated."

Still panting as her lungs burned with salt, Julie couldn't speak much of a response, but she laced her fingers into his. "That. Was. Scary."

"I'll say," he grumbled. His other hand was struggling to keep his metal lunchbox above the water, which made it difficult for him to stay afloat, but he acted more annoyed than worried. "When we get back on dry land I am so suing whoever made that guardrail. Not smart!"

"How're we going to get to dry land?" Julie squeaked. They were treading water, heads barely bobbing at the surface, and Koutarou didn't seem to be taking the situation seriously enough.

"Jewels! Koutarou!"

Akaba's shouts drew her eyes upwards to where his head was just a red smudge. The distance between the deck and the water seemed a lot greater from below. "We're okay!" she yelled up.

"Hang tight! I'm coming!" Akaba replied.

Julie and Koutarou immediately turned to look at each other. "Did he just say he's coming?" he asked. "Down here?"

"He means he'll get help to us down here," she assured him. "Akaba wouldn't be so…"

Before she could say the word 'rash,' Akaba descended like a red meteor and splashed down a few meters away. His head breached the surface a second later and Julie just stared at him in shock. That was the most un-Akaba-ish thing she'd ever seen Akaba do.

Koutarou was able to express his feelings better out loud. "You idiot! Now all three of us are in the ocean! Who's going to rescue us now?"

"Everyone is at the other end of the boat waiting for the concert to start." Julie's voice was concerned but calm. She still held onto the hope that this was all just a part of Akaba's master plan. There was a rectangular object the size of a suitcase floating under his arm that had to have a role in their rescue. "What is that?"

"Ah, the raft," he said, as if he had forgotten that he had it. "I brought a life raft." His hands groped the sides of the suitcase until he found the cord and gave it a sharp tug. With a long, powerful _whoosh_ it ballooned into something resembling a child's wading pool with a pup tent stuck on top. "Everybody get in."

Julie and Akaba and Koutarou swam to the raft and scrambled inside through the triangular door hole in the tent. Soaked and salty, but alive and unhurt, they exchanged sighs of relief.

"Thanks," Julie panted. Keeping her head out of the water had taken a surprising amount of energy. " Okay, Akaba, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Akaba's face was smooth and blank as a sheet of paper, his eyes wide and blinking. It was an unnatural expression on him.

There was a plummeting feeling in Julie's chest, like she was falling all over again. "You mean, you don't have a plan?" she asked anxiously.

"Ha ha! I knew it!" Koutarou trumpeted. "I knew he didn't have a plan! Mr. Guitar McBrilliant is no smarter than I am! You should change your name to _Baka_ba!" Julie shot him a disapproving glare and he pouted. "What? You don't get it? Bakaba, because he's an idiot? Instead of Akaba?"

Her frown tightened. "I get it. I just don't think it's a very nice thing to say about the guy who got us this raft. He saved our asses."

Koutarou snorted loudly. "Saved our asses? If he wasn't such an idiot he would have just thrown it down to us and stayed on the boat so he could get us help. The only other person who knows we fell is Jessica and I don't think she's going to rescue us. Bakaba _doomed_ our asses!"

Julie rolled her eyes. "You do realize that if you hadn't leaned off the guardrail to catch that lunchbox we wouldn't _need_ to be rescued, right?"

"Well, you didn't have grab onto me and fall too." He hugged the box to his chest and looked down at it. "I couldn't bear to lose something so precious to me."

"Neither could I. That's why I grabbed onto…" Julie stopped her words. She'd already said too much and her face was blushing a furious shade of pink. "Look," she said more calmly. "It won't do us any good to argue over who the biggest idiot is. We're all in the same boat together now."

"In a manner of speaking," Koutarou said. Then his eyebrows creased angrily. "Of course we all know whose fault this really is. That wicked witch, Jessica. I can't believe she played me for a sap like that. I just…" He growled and smashed his fist against the side of the raft.

Julie was watching his face closely. There was a tiny twitch in his lower eyelids that reminded her of how dejected he'd looked when the truth was first revealed to him. That they were now in peril on the Pacific didn't erase the fact that he had just been dealt a harsh emotional thrashing. It was just one terrible thing piled on top of another and she wasn't really sure what the right thing to say was.

"I'm sorry you guys."

Both of them turned immediately to Akaba, slouched miserably in the opposite corner. His face was still vacant, but the drooping posture of his body and ghostly tone of his voice gave him an overall expression of desolation. It was a frighteningly unfamiliar state to see him in.

"Oh come off it," Koutarou grunted, but Julie could read on his face that he was as disturbed as her.

She scooted herself over to Akaba's side and placed her hand on his shoulder, ignoring the annoyed little grumble it drew from Koutarou. "Akaba, we aren't disappointed in you. Everything happened very quickly. Emotions were high. I don't think either one of us would have done any better in your position."

"I'm supposed to be the smart one, the calm and rational one." He kept his eyes staring on the raft floor as he spoke.

"Is this because I called you Bakaba?" Koutarou asked. "Because you know I was just being a jerk, right? I didn't mean to, uh… you know, hurt your feelings. So I guess I'm sorry…" He handled the apology like it was an oversized, lopsided object that was a bit too heavy to lift. But the fact that he was giving one to Akaba at all was quite shocking.

"Your bull-headedness doesn't get to me anymore," Akaba replied. He looked up at Koutarou and then at Julie. "When I saw you two fall my brain that I've always relied on stopped working properly. I am amazed it even thought to grab this raft. That's never happened before."

This kind of confession from Akaba was as unexpected as Koutarou's apology. Julie did her best to reassure him. "I think making it to nineteen before ever having a panic attack is pretty impressive."

His face was starting to show more of its familiar composure. "You don't have any more of Elvis' jewelry lying around, do you?" Julie smiled at the comment; Koutarou growled and tightened his grip on the lunchbox. "I suppose dwelling on it won't help our situation. We have to make a plan to rescue ourselves as quickly as possible."

"Won't the people on the boat realize that we're missing and send a search party?" Julie asked. "Your concert is supposed to start in just a few minutes and the absence of the guitarist and singer is not going to go unnoticed."

"Yes, but who knows how far we'll have drifted by then," Akaba said. "Take a look outside."

Julie crawled across the wobbly raft bed and poked her head out of the hole. The sun was almost touching the western horizon, its red-orange glow reflecting double bright off the water and piercing her eyes. No wonder this thing had a tent over it. But when she squinted she was able to see the back end of their cruise ship over two football fields away.

"Holy crow!" she gasped, pulling her head back in and returning to her spot between the boys. "That ship's moving fast."

"Exactly. We can't count on them coming to find us anytime soon and it's going to get dark out here fast." Akaba's tone was serious and had regained that familiar undercurrent of cool ration. "We should take turns being on lookout for any signs of land or other boats. They'll be even harder to spot when the sun goes down."

While she appreciated Akaba's leadership skills, Julie was finding that his unfaltering honesty didn't inspire much hope. "Is it really as bleak as it sounds?" she asked in a grave whisper.

"It could be a lot worse," said Akaba, the best comfort he could think of. "At least your seasickness isn't acting up."

Her face puckered curiously. "Seasickness? But I only get sick on planes, something about the change in air pressure… I'm just fine on boats and rafts."

"Really?" Akaba raised one eyebrow just a few millimeters. "I could have sworn you'd told me once that you get terribly seasick. It's a relief that you don't. I must be thinking of somebody…"

_Blaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgh!_

A loud and disgusting retch destroyed the end of his sentence and the reason why Koutarou had been uncharacteristically quiet became clear.

He was clinging to the walls of the raft with his head hanging out the door hole, his lunchbox abandoned at his side. Between the sounds of his stomach emptying into the ocean he groaned miserably.

Julie was at his side in a heartbeat. "Oh my god, Koutarou," she squeaked. "That's right, _you're_ the one who gets seasick." Her hand rubbed in soothing circles on his back. "Does it usually pass after a while?"

"Yeah," Koutarou wheezed. "It'll stop once my stomach is empty." But apparently it still had plenty of fuel, as he heaved yet again as soon as he said it.

Despite wincing at the hideous sounds he was producing, Julie stayed right there next to him and continued stroking his back through his wet shirt. He had done the same for her when she was inebriated. "Everything is going to be alright," she said softly, her eyes darting over to Akaba in the hope that his calmly determined face would help her believe her own words.

The face staring back at her was white as lily petals; even in the shadowy space of the raft she could tell by how it contrasted his dark hair. His eyes were opened so wide the full circle of red iris was visible. Another expression she had never seen was being displayed on Akaba's face, but this one was far more disturbing than shock or confusion. Akaba was terrified.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice shaking from the fear he'd infected her with. "Akaba talk to me. Koutarou is going to be okay, right? It's just seasickness."

Right on cue, the man in question released another stream of vomit into the Pacific.

"We don't have any water," Akaba said, eyes full of dread focused solely on Koutarou. "If he doesn't stop throwing up and replenish his fluids fast, he's going to get dehydrated."

It was a threat that Julie hadn't even thought about. Her blood ran ice cold. "This is really serious, isn't it? Wasn't this raft packed with emergency supplies?" She scanned all around and Akaba did the same, feeling around with his hands (Julie refused to take hers off of Koutarou).

Eventually, his groping found a zippered pocket in the wall. From it he pulled out a pair of oars, a watertight flashlight, batteries, a patching kit for the raft, matches, and flares. No water. But miraculously there was a small first aid kit, and inside it there were seasickness patches.

"How do you suppose we missed all that?" Julie puzzled out loud. "It's too late to be preventative, but hopefully it can still be curative." She opened up one of the patches, brushed Koutarou's black mane out of the way, and stuck it firmly behind his ear. "I hope this makes you feel better."

"So do I," he muttered weakly. "But… having you touching me helps too."

Julie sighed. "After everything that's happened in the last hour, you still say such silly things."

"Even if the patch does work, he's already lost a lot of fluid," Akaba said, still visibly tense. "We need to get rescued as quickly as possible." He paused, rubbing his chin as he evaluated the supplies he'd laid out in the dim raft.

"What are you thinking about?" Julie asked.

"Trying to decide if it's worth it to light a flare when there aren't any other boats visible to us," he answered.

That was a decision Julie would need to think on, so she responded with a noncommittal, "Oh."

They sat in silent contemplation for several minutes before Koutarou (who hadn't puked again the entire time) was the first one to talk. "Why are you guys driving yourself nuts over this?" he asked petulantly. "Can't we just wait on that island over there? That seems like the smart thing to do."

"Island?" The word fell from two sets of lips at the same time. Wasting less than a second to blink at Akaba in dumb surprise, Julie hastily thrust her head out the door hole. She had to squint her eyes down to slivers to make out the tiny irregularity on the red horizon, but it definitely was there.

Akaba's head joined the other two. "Fuu~ You must have very good vision, Koutarou."

"Of course I do," he snorted. "So is that where we're heading?"

"It's our best bet," Akaba replied. "Your nausea seems to have subsided. Will you be okay laying down inside while Jewels and I paddle?"

This definitely was not what Koutarou wanted to hear and he whined loudly. "Why can't I paddle? Julie is the one who should get to relax. What kind of man are you, Bakaba, making this lovely woman toil while a fellow like me gets to rest? It's not smart and I won't allow it."

His griping earned him a swift whack on his backside with an oar wielded by Julie. "Okay Mr. Chivalry, if you can wrest this oar from my hands, I'll let you paddle in my place."

An eager smile spread on Koutarou's dry lips at the challenge. "You're on," he said and lunged for the oar. But his movements were weak and clumsy. He sat up quickly and almost immediately collapsed backwards, one hand on his forehead. "Whoa, head rush." His other hand grabbed the oar but there wasn't even enough strength left in him to tug it from Julie's loose grip.

"I win," she said with a victorious little smirk. "Now lay down and don't you dare exert yourself."

With a childish pout, he complied and curled up in the back of the raft. Julie knew that he must really be feeling worse than he let on, or else he wouldn't have given up so easily. There was nothing she would let prevent her from paddling with all her strength.

Akaba took up the other oar and together they churned a steady path towards the distant speck of land. As they drew closer, the sun became a shrinking shard of red and the world around them grew darker.

"Don't exhaust yourself," Akaba said. "You've been paddling like a machine the whole time."

"So have you," she panted back. "I won't let up until I know Koutarou is going to be alright."

In response, Akaba just nodded and fixed his eyes more tightly on the shadowed mass that was finally starting to draw nearer. They were both fighting for the same cause.

From behind them came a soft groan, which was actually a relief as Koutarou had so far been frighteningly quiet. "I don't feel so good," he muttered in a voice that sounded too puny to belong to him. Then came a noise that could only be produced by him throwing up yet again. "I barfed in the raft, guys. Sorry."

Julie paddled even harder, until the muscles of her arms were on fire, and didn't slow down even once. Thanks to the blessing of a nearly full moon in a cloudless sky, they never lost sight of the little island and eventually made it to the pebbled shore. Both she and Akaba got out and dragged the raft, with Koutarou inside, up onto dry earth.

"Let's get him out into the fresh air," Julie said, ignoring the fact that her heart was booming and her arms were knotted with pain. The two of them maneuvered Koutarou out through the door hole and lay him on a patch of grass, and Julie fell to her knees next to him.

His eyes opened halfway and he made his best attempt to smile. "We would have gotten here quicker if I had been paddling," he quietly croaked.

Julie sniffed at the prickle of encroaching tears then threw her arms over his chest and buried her face against his shoulder. She didn't even care that he smelled like stale vomit, because he was alive. "Stupid Koutarou," she cried. "You big, stupid… Don't you ever make me worry like that again!"

"He's not out of the woods yet." Akaba was crouched on Koutarou's other side, shining the waterproof flashlight down on him. "He needs clean, fresh water, and so do you and I, though our need isn't as dire." He paused a moment. "I'm going to go look for a source of fresh water."

"You're going to go… now?" Julie's eyes drifted to the dark edge of trees where beach became forest further inland. "What if you get lost? We have no idea how big this island is. And you'll be all alone."

"Without water, he'll be in seriously bad shape by morning," he answered. "I used to hike a lot with my dad. I'll take the flashlight and batteries with me and I'll be okay. You have to trust me, Jewels." He leaned over Koutarou's body and put both his hands on Julie's shoulders. "I'm going to take care of you and Koutarou. I'm going to make up for jumping off that ship."

"But Akaba, nobody blames…." Julie began.

"Just trust me," he interrupted, red eyes blazing in the flashlight glow. "You'll take good care of him, I know it." His gaze dropped to Koutarou's face and Julie saw the fire leave his eyes. In its place was a tenderness she'd never seen before; it could only be described as love. He brushed Koutarou's hair back off his forehead and whispered, "You hang in there."

Koutarou didn't have the energy to make snide retort, just nodded. Then Akaba stood up and walked silently towards the woods. It didn't take long for him and his flashlight to be swallowed by the trees.

"I'm going to make us a fire," Julie said. "But I won't stray far from you. Akaba is going to bring plenty of water. He's going to be just fine." Of course, Koutarou hadn't voiced any concern for Akaba (from lack of worry or lack of strength, she didn't know). Julie was trying to reassure herself.

"How's he going to carry it?" Koutarou asked scratchily.

"We don't have to worry about that. He'll find a way." Now she had another worry stuffed into her overcrowded brain. Koutarou was the only one that she was going to deal with, her number one priority.

There was plenty of dried out driftwood and beach grass, so with the matches from the raft kit it was easy to get a good campfire going. She took a seat protectively close to Koutarou and let the flames warm her while her eyes stayed on the gentle rise and fall of his chest, primed for any change in his condition.

"Hey Julie?" he asked.

"What is it?" She shifted focus to his face, watching his tongue flick over parched lips to little effect.

"Could you bring me my treasure chest?" It was such a simple request, but his dry voice made it sound grave.

"Of course," she answered. When she emerged from the raft/tent with his Get Smart lunch box, Koutarou had propped himself up on his elbows. "You should lay back down," she chastised.

"I'm really not as sick as you and Guitar Boy think I am," he huffed, easing himself slowly up into a sitting position and holding out his hands for the box.

Julie placed it in them with a soft sigh and sat down next to him. "So besides Elvis' bracelet, what all do you keep in there?"

"Just my irreplaceables." He opened the lunchbox and looked at its contents with such glee, even in his pitiful condition, that you'd think it held a real treasure. "Here's the football tee you gave me for my fourteenth birthday. And here's the card you drew to go with it, and the program from Peter Pan in third grade. There's a picture of our ballet class in here too." As he named each item, he lifted it from the box with unsteady hands and set it on the ground.

"Hey wait a minute," Julie interrupted. "This is all stuff I gave you. You brought all this stuff to America with you?"

"Of course. They're my treasures." Like so much of his odd behavior, he didn't seem to think it was in any way strange. "And here's the bottle of water you gave me on the first day of football practice at Bando."

"What?" Her interjection was so loud that Akaba probably heard it out in the forest. Lips stretched around an incredulous gape when Koutarou produced from his lunchbox, not an empty bottle, but a full bottle of volcanic spring water, still factory sealed. "You… You had this with you all along? You're laying here, weak as a dried up seahorse, while Akaba wanders around a strange island _at night_ and you had water with you _all along_?"

"I guess I forgot about it," he said, unfazed by her outrage. "I don't think about it as something for drinking."

"Well you're going to drink it now," she barked, snatching up the bottle and twisting off the cap before he could object. After a deep and calming breath, she spoke again in a gentler tone. "Okay, lean back and put your head in my lap."

His dull eyes opened a little wider. "R-really?" She nodded and he leaned back just as directed. "Man, the only thing that could make this better is if you were dressed as a nurse."

Julie's eyes rolled back. "Alright," she muttered. "Time to open your mouth without talking."

She tipped the water into his mouth in small, frequent doses, making sure he swallowed before giving him more. By the time the bottle was drained, he was already looking healthier. "That put a little bit of color back in your cheeks," she said happily. "We still need Akaba's mission to be successful, but at least your situation is a bit less grim."

"I feel a lot better," he said, with more energy than he'd had since his seasickness first set in. "But that might be more because I have my head in your lap than because of the water. So how are we going to pass the time till he gets back? What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything other than the fact that we're stranded on some unknown island in the Pacific after falling off a cruise ship," she sighed.

"But they're going to find us soon," Koutarou assured her. "They're already looking for us, I'm sure of it. Hell, they'll probably get here before Akaba comes back and then they'll be pissed that they have to wait. Man, I can't wait to see the relief on Sakai and what's-his-name's faces when we board that ship safe and sound. And I have more than a few words I wanna say to that Jessica…"

Koutarou was the worst off of the three of them and still was taking their ordeal the least seriously. How he could stay optimistic to the point of cockiness was remarkable but consistent with his usual attitude. Julie wished it was contagious.

But right now she was too tired to be optimistic, and her arms throbbed from paddling, as if the muscles were being cleaved from the bones. Was this how Koutarou and Akaba felt after a tough game? And there were worries, plethora of them, clawing at her brain like restless cats. Koutarou's health, Akaba's safety, water, food, rescue. Too many things.

It all must have shown on her face because Koutarou took it upon himself to ask, in a concerned voice, "You okay, Julie?"

"Just worried," she admitted.

"Aw, maybe I can help with that," he said. Then he cleared his throat with a cough, opened his mouth, and the sweetest sound came out.

"Once there was a way to get back homeward  
Once there was a way to get back home  
Sleep pretty darling do not cry  
And I will sing a lullaby

Golden slumbers fill your eyes  
Smiles awake you when you rise  
Sleep pretty darling do not cry  
And I will sing a lullaby"

The melody was like warm honey that flowed into Julie's body through her ears and spread to every part of her wired being. It was cathartic; even her sore muscles hurt less when he was singing. "God, Koutarou, your voice is so damn beautiful," she uttered when he finished. "What song is that?"

"I don't know the name but it's by the Beatles," he said, shrugging against her lap. "It's on this CD that Akaba gave me for my birthday last year. That guy is always trying to push the Beatles on me, no matter how many times I tell him I'm an Elvis man."

Julie's brow creased. "Akaba gave you a birthday present?"

"He gives me one every year," Koutarou answered. "Since we first met. It's always a CD, his way of trying to improve my 'musical sense.' He's so strange."

This was an interesting new tidbit of information. Koutarou never mentioned this, that he had gotten a gift from Akaba on his last _five_ birthdays. One question (at the very least) had to be asked. "Do you give him anything on his birthday?"

"No," he snorted. "I didn't think I had to. I mean, it's not like I asked him to give me anything."

Her hands zoomed to his cheeks and squeezed, making his lips pop. "You dummy!" she snapped. "Akaba really cares about you and wants to be your friend. He's out there looking for water for your sake. You should be kinder to him."

Koutarou pouted, or rather, he made the closest expression to a pout that he could manage with his cheeks still smooshed between Julie's fingertips. "Okeh, okeh, e'll dry da be ginder. Peesh leggo ob my vaish."

With a gentle sigh she showed mercy on his face and removed her fingers to his bangs, combing them through the salty strands. "Do you mind singing that song for me one more time?"

For his encore performance, she closed her eyes and just let his voice soak into her, free from the distraction of visual stimuli. The swish of waves lapping the shore melded with his rich baritone. His head on her lap was warmer than the fire. Julie had wanted to stay awake until Akaba returned, but was utterly helpless against the island lullaby.

When her eyes next opened, it was on a sky of pale and luminous pink and lavender, the sherbet colors of dawn. Why was she waking up outside? Yesterday's events came back to her and she shot upright with a gasp. "Koutarou!"

He was sprawled on the ground next to her, snoring softly, and didn't even stir at the commotion she made. His breathing was deep and slow and even. He was fine.

The reason for his return to health was in front of her eyes; a dozen or so plastic bottles in all shapes and sizes were set in a neat row on the other side of the lingering embers of their fire. Two of the bottles were empty, already drunk, but the rest were filled with clear water, the fruit of Akaba's successful mission.

Julie stretched and rotated her arms. The pain in them was a bit duller now, more ache than burn. Then she reached for the closest bottle of water and gulped it down greedily. She was thirstier than she'd realized and the water was cool and clean and sweet. Once the need in her throat was slaked, she scanned her surroundings for the one responsible, eager to express her gratitude.

Akaba wasn't around the campfire with her and Koutarou. In one direction was the forest, not nearly as foreboding in the light of day, but an unlikely hangout for their friend. That only left the beach. She stood herself up on stiff legs and made the short walk down towards the shore where she spotted Akaba on an outcrop of rock. He was sitting with his legs bent in front of him, arms resting on the knees and his chin on top of that. The breeze off the ocean was blowing right in his face, whipping his red hair around like feathers. His name had never seemed so appropriate as it did right now.

"So here's where I find our hero," Julie said, sitting down next to him on the rock. "You really saved the day, Akaba. I don't even know how you did it. How did you find all those bottles?"

He lifted his chin off his arms and turned it towards her. "I found them washed up on the beach, all trash that found its way into the ocean, maybe from thousands of kilometers away. Who'd have thought pollution could be so useful?"

"And you filled them all with fresh water. It must have taken you all night. You should get some sleep."

"Fuu~ someone has to keep a lookout for boats," he said. "I didn't want to wake you when you looked so peaceful. And Koutarou, well, you know… I'm just so relieved that he's okay."

"Me too." She was remembering how frightened Akaba had looked when Koutarou fell ill, how loving he'd looked before embarking into the woods, and combining it with the revelation of his annual birthday gifts. Suddenly Julie realized that Jessica might not be her only competition for Koutarou's affection. But how could she even broach such a subject with Akaba? "You really care a lot about Koutarou, don't you?" she asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Dang, she felt so self-conscious trying to talk to him about this. "You're always turning the other cheek when he's a jerk to you, which is slightly more than often. You even let him in your band. And also… I know about the birthday presents, how you give him a new CD every year and never get a thing from him on _your_ birthday."

"I thought he would like them. It's no big deal." Akaba was acting very cool about this, very typically. Maybe Julie was reading the signs completely wrong. Were there signs?

Still, she felt a need to clear things up and put it behind her by asking the most embarrassing question imaginable. She swallowed twice, took a deep breath, and said it slowly. "Akaba, are you… in love with Koutarou?"

"What?" His response was something between a stammer of disbelief and a snort of amusement, as if she'd just made a particularly shocking joke.

"So… does that mean you're not?" Julie asked sheepishly.

Akaba shook his head, his subtle smile in place. "No, no, I'm not in love with Koutarou. Trust me, Jewels, you're the _last_ person I'd want thinking a thing like that." He sighed and looked up at her, his face suddenly serious. "Since you've already started to put things together, I guess I will let you in on the truth. Koutarou _is_ more than a friend to me, but I'm not in love with him. He's my brother."

To be continued…


	9. A Family Affair

Free Talk- Another long one. I hope it turned out well. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story. I million thanks to those who have commented. I know I have said this before, but please, please don't hesitate to give me constructive criticism where I need it. Don't be afraid to be honest with me. It is the only way I'll learn. Tell me what you think of the new chapter and, as always, thank you for reading!

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 9: A Family Affair

* * *

"Koutarou is your brother?" The words slipped out from Julie's lips slowly, as if each one was a question on its own. Her eyes searched Akaba's face for any hints of coded meaning, but he was inscrutable as ever. "You mean he's _like_ a brother, right? Because you feel so close to him."

His gaze shifted off-center and more towards the ocean. Was it embarrassment? Shyness? With Akaba, every emotion was so subtle it was difficult to read. "I mean we have the same father," he said calmly.

"But I know Koutarou's parents," Julie said. "And I've met yours at football games. Your dads are as different from each other as the two of you are." She had no idea why she was trying to disprove what he'd said. Akaba had never been intentionally deceptive to her, and there was certainly no reason for him to lie about this. But a reveal that her two closest friends, semi-rivals with each other, were actually blood related was the kind of twist that only happened in evening dramas and cheap novels.

"You've met my mother and her husband," Akaba clarified for her. "She married him when I was two years old and he legally adopted me. He _is_ my dad. But my biological father is Sasaki Kouji, Koutarou's dad."

The weight of truth in his words sank them deep into Julie's consciousness. Everything Akaba said was true; she could feel it in her heart that they were brothers. And now things that had little significance before gained new meaning. The odd similarities between the two otherwise contrasting boys. The looks exchanged between their mothers when they crossed paths at games.

A lump stuck in Julie's throat and it made her voice squeak slightly when she spoke. "Koutarou's dad is such a nice guy, and he loves his wife to bits… at least, he acts like he does. How could he cheat on her?"

Akaba sighed. "Well, I've only heard my mother's version of the story and she's a bit of a romantic." He turned, looked inland towards the campsite for any sign of Koutarou, and seeing no trace of him began the story.

"Before Koutarou and I were born, my mother and his father were colleagues at an architecture firm. He was young and charming, and from the way my mom described him, a lot like Koutarou. Even though she knew he had a wife and a daughter, she couldn't help falling in love with him.

"If it had only been one-sided, she probably would have just pined for him from afar. But they kept being forced together to work on projects, by fate my mom says, and it became quite clear that her feelings were returned. He loved her, but he also loved his wife and family, and the temptation of having to work so closely made him and my mother so tense they both considered finding different jobs. In fact, they argued over which one of them should leave, each thinking they were the more guilty party.

"In the end, it was Koutarou's dad who bowed out gracefully. He told their boss that he had found another job and would be leaving as soon as his current project was finished. It was a big project, and a lot of things went wrong, so when they were finally able to wrap up, everyone who'd been working on it celebrated with champagne. Mom said they both had too much to drink and when he took her aside to say his last goodbye, well, one thing lead to another and the very thing he was trying to avoid by leaving happened."

Akaba sighed softly, reflectively. "And that's how I happened."

"Wow," Julie breathed, totally enrapt in his tale and hungry for more. "So when did he find out that your mom was pregnant? I mean, he did find out, right?"

"He found out," Akaba said. "Mom met with him in private and told him pretty much as soon as she found out herself. She thought he deserved to know. But she refused to accept any money or other help from him, no matter how he insisted. She didn't want to be a home-wrecker.

"The guy was so wracked with guilt though that he told his wife everything. It broke her poor heart. From what my mother tells me, Mrs. Sasaki went to live with her parents for a while, and probably would have left her husband for good…" Akaba stopped as if he knew that Julie was going to finish his story intuitively.

"But then she found out that she was pregnant with Koutarou," she said softly.

"He has no idea, but he saved his parents' marriage," Akaba said. "So he and I each grew up in separate happy houses, both completely unaware of the other's existence. My mom married my dad when I was so young that I couldn't remember life without him and had no reason to suspect he wasn't the real thing.

"Then when I was in seventh grade I had to do this big genealogy project for school and started snooping around through family documents. And that's how I found out. I confronted my mother about it and she told me everything I told you, didn't see a point in concealing it any longer. I asked if she had any photos of my father and she had only one, a picture she took in Ueno Park when I was about one year old. He'd been taking a walk with little Koutarou and ran into us by chance, so Mom snapped a photo of him with his two boys.

"I had always wanted a little brother, so when I saw that photo I made it my mission to meet him. Sometimes I even waited outside the middle school that he went to so I could catch a glimpse of him leaving. He was always with you. But I never talked to him, just watched from the sidelines. We didn't meet for real until the first day of high school.

"Koutarou definitely was not what I expected. Ever since I had first found out I had a younger brother, I had been building up an image in my brain of what I thought he'd be like."

"What kind of image was that?" Julie asked.

"I pictured a little brother who was modest and thoughtful, an intelligent guy with a keen interest on science and philosophy who I could have meaningful discussions with. In my head he was the ideal brother, up until I actually met him."

Laughter she couldn't help bubbled from Julie's lips. Akaba's ideal brother was pretty close to the exact opposite of what he got. "But you both love American football," she reminded in a voice still toned with mirth. "And now you have being in the band in common too."

"I was actually really happy when you fixed his performance problem," Akaba said. "Because it meant we wouldn't drift apart just because high school was over. He gets on my nerves like nobody else, but I have come to appreciate him for all the good things that he is: spontaneous, fearless, dedicated. He even taught me a thing or two about loyalty when I transferred to Teikoku. I wouldn't trade him for my _ideal_ brother even if I could."

Of all the unexpected things that Akaba had revealed to her while they sat on that rock on the beach, Julie was most touched by this last admission. It was as if all the ice that normally encased Akaba's heart had melted, even if just for a mere moment, and he was letting her see it unprotected. "You really do love him as a brother," she said tenderly. "Even though he has no idea."

His eyes looked deep into hers and she was suddenly overcome with a feeling that underneath those red contact lenses were smoky grey irises just like Koutarou's. "He might never know," Akaba said, half sighing. "If his parents never tell him."

Julie blinked in surprise. "You mean, you're never going to tell him yourself?"

He shrugged coolly. "It's not really my place to tell him. He might not even want to know. You know how he idolizes his old man and I would hate to ruin his image of the guy. But I'm happy as long as I can just spend time with him. And with you, Jewels." He reached out and tucked a stray strand of blue hair behind her ear and a wave of shivers coursed her body. "My guitar, football, and the two of you are all I need to be happy."

The shudder his touch caused somehow entered her bloodstream and traveled to her heart, making it take up an uncomfortably strong rhythm. It wasn't pounding as furiously as it did that time Koutarou almost kissed her; no, it wasn't like Koutarou-induced palpitations. But it was the first time she'd ever had such a reaction to Akaba and it startled her.

"Hey!"

Koutarou's shout caught Julie so off-guard that her galloping heart seemed to jump into her throat and stop completely. "Koutarou!" she gasped, turning around to see him just a few meters away and moving closer. "You scared the hell out of me."

When he reached their rocky perch, the suspicion on his face was obvious. "You two are looking awfully chummy," he snorted, leaning close to scrutinize their expressions. "What were you talking about that was so engrossing you jumped when I called you?"

Julie's mouth fell open, but the noise that came out could barely be considered language. "I… uh… well…" She was never good at on the spot lying.

"We were talking about the World Cup championship game against America," Akaba smoothly improvised. "I was telling Julie that I never once regretted my decision to only take part in the kick team. After all, the kick team is more important than most people give credit to. Wouldn't you agree, Koutarou?"

"You got that right," he said confidently. Then he squeezed himself between them, pushing the two apart with his shoulders to make the space wide enough to accommodate him, and sat down. "Nothing is more important than the kick team."

Julie's back and abdominal muscles, which had apparently been tensed in apprehension, unclenched and it felt like a full-body sigh of relief. Akaba had successfully deflected Koutarou's attention.

He finished his speech about the indispensability of the kick team (which Julie and Akaba both knew by heart by now), and there was a moment of silence as the three Bando alumni stared out on a vast, empty Pacific Ocean. "No sign of our cruise ship?"

"No sign of any ship," Akaba answered without turning to look at him. "I don't think they're coming for us."

Koutarou and Julie stammered in unison. "What?" And of course Akaba had said it in a perfectly calm and serious way; analytical once again after showing Julie a glimpse of his emotional depth just minutes before. "You really don't think they are coming back for us?" she asked.

Akaba's eyes narrowed on the uninterrupted line between dark sea and pale sky. "I think if they were searching for us, they'd have found us by now. That is, of course, if they are looking in the right place. And that all depends on how soon our disappearance was discovered and whether or not Jessica gave an accurate account of when we went over."

A loud hiss issued from between Koutarou's teeth and Julie and Akaba on either side of him turned inward. He was seething; jaw tightened, eyebrows fiercely angled, his fists were pumping. "That damn Jessica," he growled through his closed mouth. "The next time I see that witch, I'm gonna…!" He didn't actually say what he was going to do, but he swung his arms and punched the air in front of him, making his friends draw back in alarm.

"You're going to beat her up?" Akaba asked, unimpressed. "If you want to take the woman down, I'm sure there is a more effective and less crude method than resorting to physical violence. You're still in a rage now. You need time to cool down and use your brain."

"Using your brain," Koutarou said contemptuously. "That's your solution to everything. Well I suppose you think we can use our _brains_ to get off this island, too. God, you're such a nerd, Akaba. A big ol' guitar-obsessed, red-haired nerd!"

"Stop it!" Julie snapped, stomping to her feet. "Can't you spend any sustained amount of time around Akaba without saying something horrible to him? This has been going on for four years now and it's enough! Akaba cares more about you than you'll ever realize, Koutarou, but you continue to abuse him!"

Both boys were silent, blinking up at her in an astonished sort of way, and she suddenly realized how completely overblown her reaction was to a very minor jab from Koutarou. Normally she would have just rolled her eyes and sighed, but the knowledge of their blood connection colored everything differently, made her react differently.

"Uh… Are you alright?" Koutarou asked, one eyebrow raised. You seem kind of…" He didn't have a word to describe her behavior.

"S-sorry," she said hurriedly, cheeks hot with embarrassment. "It's just the stress of this whole situation. We're all salty and dirty and hungry, but we're in this together so we have to get along." Actually, the one good thing about being on this island was that she could use it as an excuse for just about any atypical behavior.

She looked down at Koutarou rather sheepishly and his puzzled expression blossomed into a wide smile. "No need to apologize, Julie. I'm not feeling totally myself either, kind of un-smart for the first time in my life."

"That is shocking," Akaba remarked, not sounding the slightest bit shocked. "Right now I think we need to consider Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs."

"Lazlo's what?" Koutarou snorted.

"Fuu~ It means we have to take care of our most basic needs before we try to deal with more complex needs, like getting off this island. We have air to breath and water to drink, but we need…" Akaba was interrupted by an angry growl from Koutarou's abdomen before he said the final word, "food."

"I'm extra hungry because I barfed up everything I ate yesterday," Koutarou whined. "So are we going to search this place for something to nosh or what?"

Akaba stood up slowly, brushed the sand from his jeans and stretched his neck and shoulders. He'd been sitting since before Julie showed up, possibly for hours, and he must have been pretty stiff. "That's the plan," he said. "If any ship comes close enough they will see our life raft on the beach and know someone is here, so we don't need to worry about straying from the campsite for a few hours."

"If we're going into the woods," asked Julie, "do you think you could show me where you got the water last night, Akaba? I want to wash the salt and sand out of my hair if I can."

"I'll take you," Akaba said. "No problem."

The trio took some supplies from the raft: matches, flashlight, and the first aid kit, and packed them into Koutarou's lunchbox alongside his treasures (he refused to leave anything out to make more room). Then they headed into the forest with Akaba leading the way.

The flora on the island still looked tropical; they hadn't ventured too far north before they went overboard. The trees were tall and dense, garlanded with green creepers so thick you couldn't even see the bark on some. From the little gaps in the canopy, sunlight shown through and cast a mottled yellow glow on the forest floor, on coiled ferns and large red flowers. Bird noises and bug noises filtered through the vegetation in every direction.

But Akaba moved confidently between tree trunks and over rotting logs. He had already journeyed to the water source and back in the dark several times and seemed like he knew the route by heart now. Koutarou and Julie did their best to keep pace with him, but they hadn't been out here before and were more easily distracted by their jungle setting.

"How big do you suppose this island is?" Koutarou asked as his gaze swung from one side to the other to take it all in. "For all we know there could be other people here."

"It's possible," Akaba said, a meter or so ahead but still close enough to hear.

Julie was walking right alongside Koutarou, enjoying his company and trying not to think of him differently now that she knew he was Akaba's brother. If she was giving off any vibes that she knew something juicy, Koutarou wasn't picking up on them, oblivious as always.

"Hey," he said excitedly. "If there are other people on this island maybe it will lead to a bunch of weird, paranormal stuff happening. Just like on that American show we watched while we were in the States, where these people get marooned on an island and then all these mysterious things start to happen. The plot is really complicated so I always have to have Akaba explain it to me. Hey Akaba! What was the name of that show again?"

"Gilligan's Island," Akaba called back.

"That's it! Gilligan's Island! Very freaky…"

Julie laughed and listened to him describe various outlandish plots as they hiked, comforted by how familiar it was in such an alien setting. She was glad she had put on sneakers to go to the concert instead of sandals. The terrain under foot was laden with slippery moss, tangled vines and tree roots, and loose rocks; she almost tripped once, but Koutarou caught her.

When he'd run out of things to say about Gilligan and his adventures, all talking ceased and other, quieter sounds took its place. The undergrowth rustled and crunched beneath three pairs of feet stepping in three different rhythms, and beyond that there was moving water. Julie saw an opening in the trees ahead of them, golden sunlight pouring through it, and quickened her pace.

It was breathtaking, the sort of place described in children's fairytales. A stream that carved a neat winding course through the jungle tumbled over a rocky ledge and collected here in a pool so clear you could see the stones on the bottom. Water plants flourished around the edges and Julie half expected to see a little nymph poke its head up through the pristine surface.

"This place is beautiful," she said.

Akaba, who had a contented air about him, nodded and said, "I'm glad I can share it with you, Jewels. I think me and Koutarou will look for food and let you bathe in privacy, but we'll stay within shouting range. Does that sound okay?"

She bobbed her head. "That sounds perfect. Just… stay together. And be safe."

After Akaba assured her that they would, the two boys retreated back into the forest, Koutarou a bit reluctantly, his neck craning around to look at her every meter or two until he was too deep in the trees to see anymore. He was clearly not completely comfortable with leaving her by herself in the woods like this.

Julie sighed only briefly and began to undress, one garment at a time. It felt weird to be naked outside; the warm tropical air on body parts that weren't used to exposure was more exhilarating than embarrassing. Before she did anything else, she rinsed out her clothes in the water, swirling them around and rubbing to get all the salt out, and then laid them out to dry in the sun on a patch of rock. Then she stepped into the shallowest part of the pool, and finding that the water was the perfect temperature, ventured in up to her neck.

Truly splendid! Like a hot spring without the hot. The miniature waterfall where the stream fell over the rocks was like a natural showerhead, perfect to rinse her hair under. But even after she felt sufficiently clean and refreshed, her clothes were still wet, so she decided it wouldn't hurt to frolic in the water a bit. After all, when would she be back on this deserted island again?

As Julie played in the water, her mind was on Koutarou and Akaba. They were brothers (technically, half-brothers), and while Akaba had known for years, Koutarou didn't have any clue. The more she thought about it the more her affection for both boys grew, swelling warmly inside her until it filled her whole chest. It also made her feel a pang of loneliness for Harumi back in Japan, even though it had been less than a week since they'd seen each other.

But at least Koutarou and Akaba were together. Maybe being caught up in a plot that would give Gilligan and the Skipper a run for their money could bring the two brothers closer. Even if Koutarou never found out, Julie hoped that he would always let Akaba be a part of his life.

_Glurggle!_

She also hoped that the two of them were finding food out there in the jungle. Almost as soon as she thought it her eyes spotted a speckling of red on the rocky ledge near the fall and she moved closer. It was a wild strawberry shrub sprouting robustly out of the dirt between two slabs of stone, its green stems clustered with fat, crimson berries. Julie plucked one and popped it in her mouth greedily (with little thought to whether it was truly a strawberry and not something exotic and poisonous). It tasted like golden sunlight and clean water and she hastily went about collecting the rest to share with her boys when they returned.

Then she felt it; cold, slimy claws gripped onto the sides of her arms and her heart leapt into her mouth. She dropped the strawberries, spun around and found herself face-to-face with a monster, a creature as tall as a grown man, coated thickly with dark, foul-smelling mud.

"S-swamp monster!" she croaked, and the thing let out a low rumbling laugh at her expense. How had it snuck up on her undetected? The falling water drowned out the sound but the smell…

No time to think! She had to act. She swung an arm in front of her at full strength and it crashed into the creature's muddy side, making it wince and whine "Ow!" in a vaguely familiar voice.

But Julie was too rattled to think about it. She struck again from the other side and the creature pulled back. Her hand reached for it and the fingers hooked onto part of it under the water as it tried to escape. The creature squawked and struggled, attempting to swim away as she yanked back on whatever it was she'd caught, something elastic. Then she felt something tear. The monster disappeared into the water, murky with the mud dissolving from its body, and Julie was left holding the article of clothing she had ripped off of it.

The swamp creature surfaced a few meters away. "Not. Smart," it panted. _He_ panted, for now Julie could see quite clearly that it wasn't a monster at all.

"Koutarou? What the hell is wrong with you? Attacking me from behind?"

Most of his mud disguise was now swirling in the water between them, leaving just a very wet and startled Koutarou. "I was just trying to give you a good scare," he insisted. "You're the one who attacked and then ripped off my…"

His voice went silent as Julie lifted the soaking pair of black silk boxers out of the water. She looked at the underpants and then over at Koutarou, eyes trailing from his smooth, wet chest down to where the water was quickly clearing to reveal... "Oh god!" she shrieked, eyes squeezing tightly, finger pointing accusingly. "You… You're completely naked!"

"Yeah, thanks to you," he snorted. Then his voice became quiet and awkward all of the sudden. "Um… Julie, you're… not exactly wearing clothes either."

Julie gasped in horror and spun away from him. "Turn around!" she stammered. "Turn around, Koutarou! Don't look!"

"Yeah! I'm turning!" he shot back frantically. "I… I didn't see anything. I swear. Did you?"

"No!" she said adamantly. "No, I… well… I sort of caught a glimpse of something black and hairy. But I closed my eyes before I got a good look!" She could feel her whole body blushing, her whole _naked_ body. Her heart pounded fiercely with humiliation. Or was it maybe… excitement?

"Look," Koutarou said, and from the sound of it, Julie could tell he was facing the other direction as he claimed. "I didn't know you were naked when I snuck up on you. I thought you would be in your underwear, which is just like a bathing suit really, and…"

"I know," she said. Her own voice sounded so shy and embarrassed, so girly. "You wouldn't do something like that. So let's just slowly move towards our clothes without turning around and looking at each other."

"Do you still have my boxers?" he asked sheepishly.

Julie looked down at her empty hands. "Crap! I must have dropped them without noticing when I saw your… when I saw that you were naked. But they were ripped anyways, right? You'll just have to go commando."

"Right, right," he chuckled nervously. "So do we just move to opposite banks now?"

But she was already moving stiffly towards the rock where she'd laid her clothes, breathing in and out slowly, heart thudding so loudly she was surprised it didn't send ripples through the water. She was so focused on the task at hand that when something slithered against her bare skin, she jumped. Then she looked; gliding on the surface of the pool was one of the very few things that genuinely frightened her.

"Snake!" she shrieked, and forgetting all modesty thrashed over to Koutarou, who turned his head despite their agreement.

"Snake?" he asked, puzzled. Then he saw it and staggered back, and Julie remembered that he was just as scared of the legless creeps as she was. "Holy shit!" He grabbed her and pulled her protectively against his body, and, too freaked out to object, she clung to him as tightly as he clung to her.

They trembled together like a single naked entity, their eyes and attention all focused on the little s-shaped reptile. Only after it had disappeared into a distant clump of water grass did they become acutely aware that their nude bodies were pressed together snugly. Before they had time to untangle, though, a voice cut in from the bank.

"I assume there is a story behind this?"

"Akaba!" Julie squeaked as she scrambled away from Koutarou. "There was a snake. We got scared."

He was standing on the edge of the pool with an armful of bright green and orange fruits he'd foraged and staring at the two of them with a subtle mix of shock and embarrassment on his face. "And you are naked because…?"

With a little gasp she wrapped one arm over her chest and used the other to shield her lower region. Great, now both of them had seen her in the buff. "Well, _I_ was bathing," she said peevishly. "Peter Pantsless here snuck up behind me and scared me half to death."

Koutarou snorted. "I wasn't pantsless until you yanked 'em off me, wild woman." Both of his hands were being used to cover his most private body parts and his face was as red as those wild strawberries she'd found earlier.

Akaba leaned forward, examined their faces the way Koutarou had when he joined them on the beach that morning. "Fuu~ I guess there's only one thing to do." And with that statement he set down his bounty, stripped off his clothes, and joined them in the water.

A heart attack or stroke seemed imminent with how aggressively the blood was pumping through Julie's arteries. "How is this the only thing to do?" she asked frantically as she backed as far away from her _two_ naked friends as she could get as fast as possible.

For other young women this would be a fantasy: nude swimming with two handsome rock star brothers in a paradisiacal island pool. But for Julie it was the most mortifying experience imaginable. The two people she felt closest to were seeing her utterly exposed, all her flaws and assets out on display.

"You need to relax, Jewels," Akaba said coolly. "You're thinking too much about the nakedness. Empty your mind of any feelings of inadequacy and shame and just concentrate on the feel of the water. The waves your body makes are like music. Can you feel it around you?"

"Oh shut up," Koutarou barked. "Music has nothing to do with it. Don't listen to him, Julie. You should focus on how good it feels not to be smothered and tied down with needless clothes."

"I _like_ clothes," she said. "I plan to make a career based on clothes, remember?" But she was already starting to feel more at ease. This wasn't really _that_ bad. It was like a coed bath, sort of. She wasn't going to deny that it had an exciting quality to it, a wild, American, rock star quality.

Nervously, she moved a little closer. Paused shyly. Moved a little closer. Then came a shout of English that stopped her in her tracks.

"Halt!"

Three pairs of Spider eyes darted to the fringe of jungle where the sound had come from and suddenly they realized that they were surrounded. At least a dozen men in olive green uniforms were emerging from the forest all around the pool, and every single one of them was pointing a rifle at the naked trio. Six arms flew up in the air. Koutarou's eyes shot over to Julie and with a little gasp of alarm he dropped his arms and used them to swim in front of her.

There was a murmur of discontent among the armed men and a shuffling of boots as they closed in tighter.

"You shouldn't have moved, Koutarou," she whispered squeakily through her teeth. "I don't want you getting killed for trying to protect me from some gawks and stares."

"I'd be dying for a worthy cause," he whispered back proudly. "Besides, I don't think they're really going to shoot."

One of the men, who wore a slightly different style uniform and seemed to be the leader, stepped forward, his gun shifting targets between Koutarou, Akaba, and Julie. He said something in English that she didn't understand and Akaba answered. The man immediately lowered his gun in response to whatever it was that Akaba said then gave an order to the rest of his party and they lowered their weapons too.

"What did you tell him?" Koutarou asked eagerly.

Akaba ignored him and kept talking with the gunman. Only a few words were familiar to Julie: ocean, boat, president, and she was almost certain she heard the word pineapple in there (though it didn't make much sense). There were little nods being exchanged along with the words, which made her feel hopeful. Suddenly Akaba looked over at her, and then quickly back at the man, to whom he said one last thing. The man nodded curtly, barked an order, and like soldiers, he and the other men turned around and marched back into the woods.

Koutarou and Julie turned immediately to their friend.

"He said we're trespassing on private property," Akaba explained. "Apparently this entire island is privately owned. These men came from a nearby pineapple plantation."

"Who carries guns on a pineapple plantation?" Koutarou asked incredulously.

"He said their president equipped them. He also said that this president is currently visiting the plantation and that he speaks fluent Japanese. The man is going to take us to the him."

"That's great!" Julie chirped. "He'll be able to help us get off this island! We're saved! But, uh… why did they all leave?"

"To give us privacy to get dressed," Akaba answered.

Suddenly remembering that they were all stark naked, Julie yelped and covered herself with her arms. "Both of you close your eyes!"

"But you didn't seem so self-conscious before," said Koutarou.

"Just close 'em!" she demanded.

She scrambled out of the water and dressed herself as fast as she possibly could. Her clothes were dry by now and warm from the sun. Then she closed her eyes to give the boys the same privacy they gave her, but not before accidentally catching an eyeful of Koutarou's bare backside. It wasn't a bad sight by any means.

Fully clothed and at least two thirds embarrassed, the trio headed back into the jungle where they found the leader of the pineapple guard waiting, his gun strapped to his back. They followed him, in silence at first, but soon Koutarou started to fidget and adjust his black jeans.

"Why'd you have to rip my undies?" he complained. "Going commando is _not_ smart. It chafes like crazy."

Julie just sighed and shook her head.

They hadn't even traveled half a kilometer when the forest abruptly ended and they stepped out of the trees into a wide, open valley sloping down to the ocean. Situated in the middle of the grassy clearing were two large buildings, side-by-side, a massive rectangle of red brick and a pure white mansion flanked with columns. There were wind-farming towers, too, giant white propellers that provided power to the facilities.

"How do you suppose we missed a place like this?" Koutarou marveled as he took the whole scene in.

"Fuu~ We just hadn't ventured deep enough," Akaba replied. When they passed the red brick building, he read the big sign on it out loud. "King Mukuro Pineapples."

"Do you think this King Mukuro is the president?" Koutarou asked curiously. "His name sounds Japanese."

"I think that's just the name of the company," said Julie. "He's the president of a pineapple company, not a king."

But as soon as she set foot inside the white mansion she started having doubts about her claim. This place was certainly fit for a king. The floor in the foyer was solid marble, buffed to a brilliant sheen so it reflected the blue sky and white clouds that the high glass ceiling let in.

Koutarou, Julie, and Akaba were led up the grand mahogany staircase and then down a hallway lined with fine paintings in ornate gilt frames. Their guide said nothing, even when they reached a set of double doors with shiny brass knobs that undoubtedly opened to the president's office.

He let them inside but held up his hand for them to wait near the entrance while he hurried across the ostentatious office to an enormous wooden desk and a high-backed chair that was turned around to face the window. The man whispered something to the unseen president, paused while he waited for instructions, and then hurried back to trio, indicating with a nod and a sweeping hand gesture for them to approach.

"I kind of feel like we're meeting the Wizard of Oz," Julie said nervously.

"Well, you've got the scarecrow with you," Koutarou said, linking his arm with hers.

"And the tin woodsman," Akaba added, doing the same on her other side.

So the three of them walked together, and for some reason, Julie's heart was pounding. They stopped in front of the desk and as the chair slowly swiveled they heard the president let out a familiar demonic cackle.

"Kekeke!"

To be continued…


	10. Bad Company

Free Talk- Still chugging along I am. The chapters may take awhile, but I have sworn not to start anything else until this story is complete. I'd say it's about 2/3 finished now, and this chapter sets things up for the final third. I hope you'll stick with me to the end. Thanks for the feedback for last chapter. People seemed surprised to see Hiruma. Were you surprised about Koutarou and Akaba's... er... link? I am happy that at least one person picked up my lame _Reborn!_ joke. There was a lame one-off reference to _Lost_ in there, too. Anyways, please tell me what you think of the new chapter and how I am doing. Your support means so much to me. Oh, and Jill, it is _not_ just in your head...

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 10: Bad Company

* * *

The trademark cackle gave him away before his pointy face was revealed, but that wasn't nearly enough time to dispel the shock. Julie wasn't prepared to find herself suddenly under the sadistic glare of Hiruma Yoichi. When she looked to her left, she felt relieved to see that Koutarou's expression was just as stunned as hers. To her right, however, Akaba was so perfectly composed it was almost irritating.

"Hello, Hiruma," he said. "So I take it this is the one you were referring to in Kumabukuro Riko's interview?"

"That's right. I'm surprised you remember, Fucking Red Eyes," Hiruma replied. "Though not nearly as surprised as I am to be greeting you and your entourage here." Actually, he didn't seem surprised at all. He seemed like he was expecting them.

"Who's whose entourage?" Koutarou asked rudely. "If anything, Akaba is me and Julie's entourage. After all, he's the one who followed us off the end of the ship. And what is this interview you're referring to? Why is a guy like you the president of a pineapple company?"

Hiruma tilted back his leather desk chair. Even when he was in a relaxed position there was a wicked, calculating air about him. "Still don't know how to keep your trap closed I see, Fucking Sideburns. The whole island belongs to me; the pineapple plantation merely came with it, making me the president, owner, and sole shareholder. I only visit two or three times a year to check in on my assets. How fortunate for me that your trespassing coincided with one of my stays."

"Fortunate for _you_?" Koutarou asked raising an eyebrow.

Julie felt dread pooling in her stomach.

"Fortunate for both of us," Hiruma said, as slyly as a used car salesman. "Now please, indulge me with the story of how Fucking Sideburns, Fucking Red Eyes, and Fucking…" He paused for only a moment to think of the best nickname for Julie. "Blue Hair came to be skinny dipping in my stream on my island."

So he knew about the naked swimming. Julie's cheeks blushed hotly. Since it was Hiruma they were dealing with, she had to wonder if he had been watching them through some sort of surveillance camera. The thought made her whole face blaze. Koutarou and Akaba seeing her nude body was one thing, but Hiruma Yoichi getting a free show was too much.

"Isn't it headline news yet?" Koutarou asked their host. "The front man and guitarist from a _super famous_ Japanese rock band fell overboard from a cruise ship. That's a pretty big deal you know."

"Super famous?" Hiruma asked sardonically. "What did you say your band was called again?"

It was hard to tell whether Koutarou was baffled or offended by the comment, since both reactions manifested so similarly in him. One finger pointed challengingly at the long-eared devil while his other hand shook the metal lunchbox he was still carrying, causing its contents to rattle. "You haven't heard of Daddy Long Legs? We're the best singing band Japan has ever produced. Or something like that."

Akaba pressed his forehead into his fingertips and sighed. "Fuu~ You just replaced kicking with singing and team with band." He turned his attention diplomatically to Hiruma, who was spinning a jeweled globe of Earth on his desk with one finger. "We fell off of the ship only yesterday evening, so I wouldn't expect it to be a headline yet, though I am sure it is on the internet somewhere already. You see, Daddy Long Legs was to be the featured entertainment on the maiden voyage of a new cruise ship, but unfortunately Koutarou and Julie went over board while attempting to retrieve an item stolen by his girlfriend."

"_Ex_-girlfriend," Koutarou interjected. "But Akaba here jumped ship by choice."

"I went in the water after them," Akaba confirmed in a brittle voice. "We would have remained drifting in our life raft until rescue came, but Koutarou got terribly seasick. So we sought refuge on this island, which turned out to be yours."

Hiruma tented his fingers and flashed his razor-sharp grin. "Yes, what an interesting turn of events. Now I assume you want to be reunited with your bandmates to resume your concert tour as soon as possible. I _can_ arrange that." He paused, a vicious glint in his eyes, and Julie anticipated with trepidation the conditions of his aide. "It will cost you, you know."

"We know," Julie sighed. "You have to understand, though, that we really don't have much to offer. Will that stop you from helping us?"

"Of course not," he said with glaringly fake compassion. "It isn't my nature to ask for payment up front. I collect what's owed me on my own schedule. Oh, but in order for me to feel secure that you won't try to back out of paying your debt, I will be requiring just the teensiest bit of collateral."

"All we've got are the clothes we were wearing when we fell into the ocean," Julie said.

Their host gave a quiet little snort, a smug expression on his devilish features. "As eager as you seem to be to strip once again, I won't be taking any of your clothes."

There was a metallic clatter to Julie's left and she turned her head to find Koutarou hugging his lunchbox against his chest possessively. Eyes narrowed, lower jaw jutting, he was challenging Hiruma to ask for it.

But Hiruma just rolled his eyes. "I don't want your stupid lunchbox, Fucking Sideburns, so just relax."

Now when Hiruma Youichi said 'relax,' it by no means indicated that there wouldn't be trouble. It roughly translated to: 'resistance is futile so kindly sit down and shut up.' Whatever he had in mind as collateral, he would get it from them. Julie's stomach clenched as he pulled open a desk drawer and his face lit up with cruel glee.

"What's this? It appears I already have collateral." He pulled out a small device, a miniature hard drive that plugs into a USB port. "It's stored on this hard drive."

"What's stored on it?" Koutarou demanded.

"The footage from the security cameras, of course. I knew installing them around that jungle pool was a good idea. And investing in high-definition zoom lenses was pure genius."

"Zoom lenses?" Julie choked. "You mean…"

Before she could even say anything, Hiruma chimed in, cheerfully businesslike. "That's right. I know you three will pay back your debts at my bidding because if you don't, your hi-def naked naughty bits will be all over the World Wide Web for all to see."

Akaba shrugged coolly. "I don't care who sees my body."

"Maybe so," Hiruma said slyly. "But how do you feel about the whole world feasting their eyes on your pretty little manager? There's a lot more footage of her than there is of you or Fucking Sideburns. They'll be able to count the freckles on her ass."

There was silence as Akaba's fists tightened at his sides and his eyes closed. "There's no need to point that out. We will pay you back for any services rendered because it is the right thing to do."

Suddenly Koutarou set down his lunchbox and slammed both hands on Hiruma's desk, drawing everyone's stare. "Did _you_ watch it?" he barked. "Did you watch Julie bathing?"

Ignoring him completely, Hiruma continued to communicate with Akaba. "There's a shipment going out to the continental US tomorrow that you three can ride with. For tonight, arrangements will be made for you to stay here. Do any of you have any special requirements?"

"I require that you tell me how much you saw of Julie on that video, you perv!" Koutarou was still stuck on that, still pounding his fists on the desk and flicking droplets of spit in Hiruma's face with each word. But once again his interrogation went ignored by everyone but Julie, who touched his forearm to calm him.

"We'd like the use of a computer and access to the internet," Akaba said. "If that can be arranged."

"I aim to please," Hiruma hissed merrily. "I'll factor it into your bill along with room and board, food, water usage, electricity, fresh air, sunlight…" He was lost in his own little world, adding up their myriad fees in his head, when suddenly he stopped and glared at the trio as if they were interrupting his favorite leisure activity. "What are you still doing in my office? I'm very busy. Go! Fucking Chief Guard will show you to your room."

Then he waved them away impatiently with his hand and the trio left without question.

Outside in the hallway, the same man who had brought them in (the chief guard according to Hiruma's epithet) was waiting, as still as a statue. His instructions must have already been received, since he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Without saying a single word, he led Julie, Koutarou, and Akaba through the hallways of the mansion, turning several corners, and came to a stop in front of a door. A nod indicated that it was their lodgings, and then he took his leave.

"I swear that guy is one of Tetsuma's long lost relatives," Koutarou said once their guide was out of listening range (even though the guy didn't understand Japanese and had no idea who Tetsuma was). "Well, I guess we can't be mad that we have to share a room."

"We're just lucky to have a place to stay," Akaba said predictably. Then he pushed open the door and Koutarou shoved past him to get through first.

"Holy pineapples," he uttered, and the other two hurried inside to see what was so shocking.

The room was spacious and neat, but what made it different from any other spacious and neat room was the décor, which definitely followed a theme. On every wall were hung framed paintings of pineapples. The curtains that bracketed a large window with an ocean view were pineapple print. The lamp next to the bed was shaped like a pineapple. Oh yes, there was only one bed, a king-sized four-poster made of mahogany, and crowning each post was an elegantly carved pineapple. Even the bedspread was pineapples, a different fabric from the curtains.

Koutarou was making a face. "What exactly is Hiruma trying to pull?"

Akaba answered slowly as he continued to explore the room with his eyes. "Maybe he just really, really likes pineapples."

At this point, Julie heard the things the boys were saying but wasn't really listening, too busy flopping herself backward onto the fruity bed. After spending last night exposed to the elements on the hard ground, this thing could have dung beetle print sheets and Julie would still think it was heaven. From her new vantage point she noticed a door in the corner of the room that had slipped her attention before.

"Hey, we get our own bathroom," she said, getting up and walking over to check it out. "There's a toilet, shower, bath, even soaps and shampoo. It's like a hotel."

"Do you guys see what's going on here?" Koutarou grumbled. "All this fancy stuff is just more fees that Hiruma is adding to our bill. He's just going to use it as an excuse to keep us in his debt as long as possible and keep our nudie video hostage. He'll be watching your naked body every single day, Julie. I can't stand it!"

She rolled her eyes at him as usual. "The video is just a bargaining chip. But Hiruma is our only way off this island so we don't have a choice but to accept it. Now, do either of you mind if I take a quick shower?"

"Not at all," said Akaba.

"Check for cameras first," Koutarou warned.

Rational as she acted, Julie really did loathe the idea of Hiruma Youichi having that footage, and she _did_ check for hidden cameras (and found none) before undressing to get in the shower. The jungle pool had been cold and refreshing, but for getting clean, steaming hot water and soap did a better job.

There was a big white towel, embroidered with a pineapple embellishment of course, hanging on a rack next to the shower and she used it to dry off. She was about to change back into her clothes when she saw that there were three fluffy bathrobes hanging from hooks. She put one of them on before wrapping the towel around her head and exiting the bathroom.

Akaba had settled into a chair and was practicing silent chords on an invisible guitar. Koutarou was sprawled on the bed, tinkering with the contents of his metal lunchbox. Both of them were dead silent.

"Anything exciting happen?" she asked.

"Not a thing," Koutarou sighed. "Still waiting for that computer so we can check what people are saying about us." He sat up and stretched. "I guess it would be smart of me to take a shower too. I've still got some of that mud in my hair."

When Koutarou closed the bathroom door behind him, Julie took his vacated spot on the bed, alone with Akaba for the first time since he had told her about his parentage and his connection to Koutarou. And for the first time ever, she felt a little awkward around him. He had shared with her his biggest secret and now they were both keeping it from the young man in the shower, the most important person in both their lives.

"Some day, huh?" she commented to ease the atmosphere.

Akaba was still bent over his imaginary guitar, but he looked up when she spoke and her eyes automatically searched his features for glimmers of Koutarou. Is this how it would be from now on? Would she always look at one of them and see traces of the other, reminding her of the secret she had to keep?

"Definitely a strange twenty-four hours," Akaba said. "I have to apologize for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by getting into the pool with you and Koutarou. I just figured that since he and I had seen each other in the shower after practice, and he and you had just seen each other naked, we might as well all just see each other naked to make things even all around."

She had actually managed to put the whole naked swimming incident at the back of her mind until he brought it up again. Now her face was warm with embarrassment. "Don't worry. I didn't see anything too juicy," she chuckled nervously. "Or if I did, it wasn't a good enough look that I remember."

"Fuu~ I wouldn't mind," he said casually. "I wouldn't have taken my clothes off if I was ashamed for you to see my naked body."

How could he say it so calmly? There wasn't even a trace of self-consciousness in his voice and for some reason that made her feel _more_ self-conscious. Leave it to Akaba to open his heart in the morning and revert to being serenely inscrutable by afternoon. If she were having the same conversation with Koutarou, his face would be as red as a tomato and he'd stammer or garble all his words rather cutely.

Right when she was thinking about him, the hiss of the shower stopped and a minute later the door opened to let out a very clean Koutarou amidst coils of steam. He was wearing a bathrobe just like Julie's. It was even the same size, she theorized, as it revealed more of his long legs than it did of hers. Not helping the matter was her knowledge that he was not wearing underpants underneath it, but at least everything was covered.

"I guess it's your turn, Akaba," he said. "If you like the robe, there's one for you in there, too."

"Excellent," Akaba answered, possibly sarcastic; it was hard to tell. He stood up from the chair and nodded at Julie. "I'll be out in a few."

Now it was Koutarou who Julie was alone with, but she didn't feel awkward with him like she had when it was just her and Akaba. With Koutarou she felt an entirely different kind of awkward that was multiplied tenfold by that stupid, dangerously short bathrobe.

"We look smart in matching robes, don't you think?" he asked.

"Definitely smart," she said, trying not to let her gaze linger too long on his bare legs or on that exposed triangle of chest below his neck. Akaba may be perfectly laid-back about nudity, but she definitely wasn't, at least when it came to Koutarou. The sight of his skin sent her mind zooming back to when she was pressed up against it because of that damn snake. Yes! It was the snake's fault she was turning into a pervert.

She tried not to think about it by focusing on his face. Recent events may have made her more keenly aware of what an attractive body he had, but when she looked in his grey eyes he was still her Koutarou. She saw the silly boy who talked her into being the Spiders' manager just so he could hang out with her after school and her heart overflowed with affection.

"Come here," she chirped.

His ears pricked at the sound of it and he happily took a seat next to her on the bed's edge. "So what do you want to talk…? Hey!"

She'd caught him off guard by yanking the towel off her head and throwing it over his, but he ceased his protest the moment she started messaging it into his hair to dry it off. When she finished, his mane was still a shaggy mess. So she got up and retrieved the flip comb from the back pocket of his discarded jeans, sat down behind him on the bed, and began gently raking it through his tresses.

"Julie, you… you're combing my hair." He uttered the words as if it was the most shockingly intimate act imaginable and that made Julie feel like it actually was.

"Well, _you _spend so much time doing it, I wanted to see what the appeal was," she said as she delicately worked out a snarl, trying her best to cause him no pain. "Your hair is really soft." It smelled good too, but she decided it might sound weird if she said that.

"Jessica always snorted and made a face whenever I whipped out a comb," Koutarou said. "Sometimes she would snatch it out of my hand and throw it in the trash."

He said it like it was just any old offhand remark, but Julie heard the pain beneath it, like a low guitar chord nearly drowned out by other instruments. With all they had been through because of Jessica Coburn, no- Kobane Shika, it would be easy to overlook the emotional and psychological trouncing she had dealt Koutarou personally.

Even if his relationship with her seemed shallow and almost entirely physical (the fact that she despised one of his most obvious quirks being yet another piece of evidence), there was no way for anyone else to know exactly what was in Koutarou's heart.

Julie had been his friend since they were kids and she knew that deep down he was a romantic, a fool who still believed that love is magical. She also knew that he'd never had a girlfriend before Shika. He'd probably cared about her a lot, and believed that she cared about him too. To find out that she had just been using him for the two months they dated must have been devastating.

Then a sharp sickness seized her as she suddenly remembered something Shika had told her during their confrontation. _"After all, you did break his heart before he came to America. Funny isn't it, Julie? How you set Koutarou up for me. You made him such an easy target."_

The movement of the comb slowed as tears of guilt pricked at her eyes. No matter how unintended, her "rejection" had hurt him deeply, maybe enough to make him jump into a relationship with a beautiful but duplicitous woman. She dropped the comb completely and used both arms to hug him tightly against her.

"I'm sorry," she cried into his hair, messing up the work she'd just done. "If I had known… If only I'd known…"

Koutarou seemed stunned for a moment but then he laughed. "How could you have known what kind of person she really was, Julie? If anybody should have been suspicious it's me. You've got nothing to apologize for."

He thought she meant: _"If only I'd known what Jessica's true nature was,"_ but she really meant: _"If only I'd known that you were confessing to me at the airport."_ But how could she explain that to him now? It wouldn't make him feel any better to know that all this trouble might have been averted if he'd been less vague or she'd been less dense. Julie couldn't imagine what she would have said if she had known it was a confession anyway. Maybe she would have hurt him even worse.

If he were to confess to her right now, however, she had a pretty good idea of how she'd respond.

Her embrace tightened, she breathed in the sweet scent of shampoo on his hair, and she didn't loosen her hold on him until someone knocked on the door and she had to let go to get up and answer it. When she opened the door, the knocker had vanished, leaving a room service trolley laden with goodies for them.

"Our computer is here!" she announced, pulling the cart inside. In addition to the much-coveted laptop, there were three sets of clean clothing (looked like something casual they could sleep in), and three platters topped with domed silver covers. "Looks like dinner is here, too."

"Great, I'm starving," Koutarou said. If he was puzzled by her behavior a few minutes ago he wasn't showing it. He grabbed two platters and she grabbed the computer and together they settled back on the bed.

"Should we wait for Akaba?" Julie asked.

"No need," Akaba answered, emerging from the bathroom.

Eating commenced as they waited for the computer to boot. Dinner was grilled fish served with rice and an assortment of vegetables. And, as they soon discovered, it was all flavored with a certain secret ingredient.

"Thish fish tashtes yike pimapple," Koutarou whined upon shoving a forkful in his mouth. He swallowed and took another bite. "The rice tastes like pineapple, too."

Luckily, the computer screen lit up before he could complain further, but all three of them recoiled slightly when the desktop wallpaper loaded; it was a photo of Hiruma aiming a shotgun straight out at the audience with the words, "Don't forget, your ass belongs to me now," superimposed over it.

"Er, I don't suppose it's just an empty threat," Koutarou muttered.

Julie quickly maximized the web browser to cover it up. "Let's just not think about it. Now, where do we look first?" she asked.

"How about starting with Daddy Long Legs' website," Akaba said. "Our bandmates might have said something about us even if nobody else has."

She typed in the URL and sure enough, the main page of their website now displayed an open letter to fans in stark black type, in both Japanese and English.

_To the family, friends, and fans of Daddy Long Legs:_

_It is with deepest regret that we must announce the cancellation of our American tour due to unfortunate circumstances. This includes our scheduled appearance on the television show "Saturday Night Live." All tickets will, of course, be refunded promptly and in full. We are deeply sorry for this turn of events._

"They cancelled it already?" Koutarou squawked, so riled he felt the need to claw at his hair. "What the hell? It's been one freaking day! One! And they cancelled everything! Even _Saturday Night Live_! Not smart guys! And what's with the 'unfortunate circumstances' crap. Isn't our disappearance a bit more tragic than that?"

He paused to growl and Julie cut in using her most optimistic voice. "They probably aren't saying more because they don't want anyone to panic. But at least this means they know that you two are missing. I'm sure they are searching. And I'm sure they are worried about you. They wouldn't have cancelled so soon if they weren't worried."

"I guess you're right," he said with a pout. "Let's see if anyone else is talking about us."

With Julie at the helm, they checked several prominent entertainment news sites, but the only mentions of Daddy Long Legs referred to the cancellation as being for 'as yet unknown reasons.' Search engines yielded some music blogs, but all they could offer was vague speculation about poor ticket sales. It was still very early, of course. Almost everyone who knew something was wrong was still aboard that cruise ship.

"So what are we going to do?" Koutarou asked.

Akaba thought for a moment. 'I suppose we should make it known that we are alive and well. We should email our families and the guys first."

A glum sigh came from Koutarou, his chin drooped. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It won't reinstate our concerts though."

"No," said Akaba. "But it's not as bad as the world thinking we're dead."

"I don't know about that," said Koutarou. "If they think we're dead, they can't be mad at us for canceling our shows. They're going to hate us, aren't they?"

"Of course not," Julie chimed. "Sure the fans will be disappointed, but when you explain what happened, they'll be so happy that you're alive it won't matter."

He only seemed half comforted at best. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Hey, before sending out those emails I just want to check one more thing. Could you do a search for 'Jessica Coburn?'"

So Julie typed it in and the very first sire to pop up wasn't what any of them were expecting. It was the official announcement page for the _Saturday Night Live's End of Summer Special_.

"What does it say, Akaba?" Koutarou asked impatiently. "I can't read it!"

Akaba hesitated. His tongue flicked anxiously over his lips and his eyebrows twitched. Whatever he read was upsetting enough to cause hairline cracks to form in his perfect cool.

"What is it?" Julie asked fearfully. "Just spit it out."

The voice he answered with had a strange, airy quality. "She took our spot."

"What?" Julie and Koutarou gasped at once.

"_There has been a slight change to the list of performers that was announced yesterday_," he read."_Japanese rock band, Daddy Long Legs, is unable to appear, citing personal issues. In their place, another rising star will be the special musical guest, singer Jessica Coburn._"

Silence swallowed the room for a full minute as bitter emotions robbed the three Spiders of their voices. Jessica, Shika, whatever her name was, had not only gotten away with letting them fall overboard, but actually benefited from the tragedy. As far as she knew, the three castaways had drowned, and yet she still felt no qualms about sniping their big television debut.

"We… have to expose her," Julie said, choking slightly on her anger. "We have to let everyone know what happened and that you guys are still alive and well, no thanks to her. The producers of that show need to know what kind of person she really is before they let her perform."

"Yes," Akaba said.

But Koutarou interjected with an adamant, "No." Akaba and Julie immediately turned their eyes to him. He had a steely, determined look on his face, his game face. "I don't want to go to the show's producers about this," he continued, in a tone befitting his expression. "I want Jessica to go on that show."

"Why?" Julie asked, flabbergasted.

Koutarou's hard look turned into a smirk. "Because I want as many people as possible to see it when I expose her lies."

"You're going to confront her on live national television?" Julie asked apprehensively.

"That's rash even for you," Akaba pointed out. "And how are you planning to actually pull it off? There are some pretty prominent celebrities slated to be on this special so security will be tight. They're not going to just let you rush the stage."

"I've still got a week and a half to figure it out," Koutarou said. "With the three of us working together I'm sure we can think of something." His enthusiasm increased as he spoke, but Akaba brought it to a swift halt.

"I never said I was going to go along with this," he said sternly. "And neither did Julie. I agree that Kobane needs to be dealt with, but not with this reckless and impulsive idea of yours. It's completely irrational. Wouldn't you agree, Jewels?"

"It is crazy," she answered thoughtfully. Koutarou's smile wilted, but only until she added, "But I think we should do it. Koutarou, you can count me in."

Now he was beaming at her. "Really? You'll help?"

"In any way I can," she said confidently. "So that everyone will know immediately that she's a wolf in sheep's clothing." Her voice got soft and sensitive as she looked at Koutarou's warm grey eyes. "Nobody deserves to be used the way you were."

Her heart was set on helping him from the moment he explained his objective. Reckless and impulsive as it sounded, she knew that he was serious. This was something he felt, as a man, he needed to do. She was doing it for him.

But there was still one holdout.

"So, are you in, Akaba?" Koutarou asked, eyes full of hope.

Akaba wasn't even looking at him, though; he was looking at Julie. But he responded to the question nonetheless, eyes never leaving her face. "Why do you need me to help?"

"Aw, come on, you know the answer to that," Koutarou whined. "And you know how much I hate to say it." He sighed and grudgingly said. "You're smarted than me."

"Yes," Akaba said dispassionately. "So?"

"So, you're like the brainy big brother of the group," Koutarou answered. "We _need_ you."

Julie had been starting to grow antsy under Akaba's concentrated gaze, but when Koutarou said the word _brother_, his features immediately smoothed and she couldn't help smiling at him. She knew that word had sealed the deal. He turned to Koutarou and said, "Alright, I'm in."

Koutarou was grinning excitedly. "Smart! Let _Operation: Bring Down the Wicked Witch_ commence!"

To be continued…


	11. Band on the Run

Free Talk- A new chapter after several weeks. I am trying to take a more leisurely pace now, since I have been driving myself a bit crazy over this fanfiction. I put a lot of heart into it, even though it isn't very popular. To those who have been reading and commenting, I am eternally grateful. You folks make my day. I wish more people would, though, because I have this fear that I am one of those people who doesn't know that they suck. Please tell me if my story sucks, or if it's boring. Err... forgive my insecurity and thank you for reading.

**Koutarou Star**  
By Angelsaurus

* * *

Chapter 11: Band on the Run

* * *

The moon that evening was a gleaming disc of polished silver hanging in the sky outside their window. But sometime before they turned out the lights to go to sleep, clouds had rolled in and covered it like a dark veil so that only enough light to vaguely indicate objects in the room shone in.

Julie was awake and listening to the rhythmic in and out breathing of Koutarou and Akaba, fast asleep on either side of her. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her; she was the one who'd insisted it wouldn't be strange if the three of them shared the king-sized bed, and now she was the only one who couldn't sleep.

Both of them were facing the center of the bed, so no matter which way she turned there was a beautiful sleeping face pointed right at her, and so close. She was facing Koutarou now, watching in fascination for when his eyebrows and his lips would twitch and wondering what he was dreaming about. The world of Koutarou's dreams must be amazing, she thought.

Behind her, Akaba's breath warmed her neck.

They had only made baby steps towards forming a workable plan. The three of them agreed that they needed solid evidence that Jessica had watched them go overboard and done absolutely nothing to help them. Akaba speculated that if authorities had seen anything incriminating through the security cameras, they would have acted on it. So video evidence was out. Koutarou had assured them that he could charm a confession out of her, but Akaba and Julie had their doubts. One thing was for sure: they had to get to New York City.

Julie's brain was growing sluggish, even though her heart was still excited. Her eyelids were growing heavy, even though she wanted to keep on watching Koutarou. But in the end, sleep won out.

She dreamed she was adrift on a sea of pineapple juice in a giant metal lunchbox for a boat. Koutarou was draped over the side puking his guts out and Akaba was crouched in a corner, playing an invisible guitar as if the rest of the world didn't exist. Suddenly a tower of pale green loomed in front of their boat. It was the Statue of Liberty sprouting right up out of the ocean, and although she was far away, Julie could somehow make out the diminutive yet menacing sight of Jessica Coburn on that great green head. She flashed a grin that was too evil even for Hiruma, and then she started belting out _Kick Shock_ for the whole world to hear.

It was at this point that Julie awoke with a small gasp. The memory of the dream dissolved like smoke into the dark bedroom, and with her mind cleared, she suddenly realized that her arms had wrapped around Koutarou's midsection while she slept. She could feel the steady rise and fall of his ribcage, his hot breath against the top of her head. Her face was just centimeters from his chest, so every time she inhaled she took in his warm, clean scent. He smelled wonderful.

"Koutarou," she whispered, soft enough that it wouldn't wake him. Then she snuggled closer against him, letting the smell of him fill her lungs.

"He's on your other side," he spoke in the wrong voice.

Julie's eyes shot upwards and met Akaba's, dark without his trademark contact lenses. "A-Akaba…" she stuttered, too surprised to keep her voice to a whisper. "I… I thought… You're on the wrong side."

"I got up to use the bathroom, still half asleep, and just crawled back into the closest spot. Koutarou must have switched sides to annoy me."

"He wouldn't do that," she said. She chuckled nervously. "So, uh, how long have you been awake? I mean… in case it might give me a rough idea of how long I was holding you in my sleep."

"You're still holding me, you know," he said calmly.

"Sorry!" she squeaked as she quickly disentangled herself. "I didn't do it on purpose, I can assure you. I was asleep."

He looked at her with one of his enigmatic almost smiles. "Yes. Quite comfortably it seemed. Though there really isn't anything you need to apologize for. I would happily be your hug-pillow all night long."

An unpleasantly pleasant heat rose in her chest. "That's really not necessary," she mumbled. "Thank you. But I'm just going to scoot back into the center where I belong. If Koutarou woke up and saw us…" Her voice trailed off.

"What?" Akaba asked smoothly. "What do you think he would do?"

"He'd be furious," she said. "He'd think you were trying to make a move on me."

The corners of his lips curled up in a most suspicious way and his face moved in closer to hers. "And what if I _was_ trying to make a move on you? You aren't his girlfriend."

"St-stop it," she stammered, pushing him away with both hands. "Don't say stupid things. He'll wake up and hear you. He could be awake and listening right now." Instinct made her whip her head around to check on Koutarou and logic made her wonder why she hadn't done so earlier. But all that was on her other side was a wall of pillows underneath the comforter, arranged to look like a sleeping person. "He's gone!" she gasped.

Akaba propped himself up with one arm and looked over Julie's shoulder. "You're right. That guy must have some wicked stealth skills since he left without waking either of us."

"Where could he have gone?" There was worry in her voice now. She knew Koutarou was impetuous, but he had no idea what kind of dangers could be lurking in a mansion owned by Hiruma Youichi. What could he possibly be looking for?

The answer, of course, didn't matter. She sat up and kicked the covers off of her. "Come on, Akaba. We have to find your brother before Hiruma does."

Akaba sighed and hoisted his tired body upright. "Fuu~ You know I can't refuse when you use the b-word."

"Of course," she said slyly. "That's why I used it." She'd just swung her legs off the side of the bed when the scream of an air horn made her whole body leap in the air. The assault on ears was accompanied by a rapid, blinding flicker of the lights, on and off, over and over.

"Wake up! Wake up Fucking Spiders!" Hiruma trumpeted, following it up with another blast from the air horn. He settled the light switch in the _on_ position and grinned his pointy grin at Julie and Akaba. "Sharing the same bed, I see. Getting nice and cozy?"

"All three of us used the bed," Julie explained curtly. "To _sleep_ in. Koutarou just…"

"Ran off?" Hiruma offered. "Don't worry. I found him." He reached behind him into the hallway and dragged Koutarou in by his ear. The only reason he wasn't kicking and screaming was that Hiruma had him trussed up with rope like a wild animal, silver-grey duct tape sealing his mouth.

"Koutarou!" Julie cried, hurrying to his side. "My god, Hiruma! What did you do to him?" Her hand reached for the tape over his mouth and Hiruma clicked his tongue.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

But she could hear Koutarou's angry voice trapped in his cheeks and had to set it free. Opting for the quick and sharp method, she ripped off the tape with one swift yank and a scream of pain immediately poured out.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ouch!!! That really smarts!"

Julie winced in empathy. "I'm so sorry Koutarou." She touched his mouth with her fingers delicately. "How bad did that hurt your lips?"

"I can't tell," he said. "I think they're still stuck to the tape."

Seeing as he wasn't too hurt to joke, she felt it was okay gave an exasperated little groan now. "What were you thinking wandering off like that?"

"He wasn't thinking," Akaba answered flatly. "He never does."

"Hey!" Koutarou snapped. He was about to throw a rude comeback at Akaba, but Hiruma cut in impatiently.

"He was trying to steal the video footage of Fucking Blue Hair's striptease."

Koutarou pouted. "I was _this_ close to getting it, too, but…"

Hiruma yanked the rope around his body tighter and strangled off the end of the sentence. "He wasn't even on the right floor," he said deprecatingly. "In any case, it's time for you three to be on your way."

"Already?" Julie asked, sleepy eyes darting to the clock on the bedside table and back. "It's four o'clock in the morning."

"Then we're already running late," Hiruma growled. "I only need two couriers, though, so one of you is going to have to ride in one of the crates. But which one?" He scratched his chin, pretending he was really thinking about it even though the sadistic glare he was shooting at Koutarou made it quite clear that he had already made up his mind.

…

"Try to find a comfortable position and stay in it," Julie said helplessly, threading her fingers between the slats of a giant wooden crate. "It's only a ten hour flight." She saw his anxious grey eyes shining back at her and felt his fingers lace with hers and her heart melted for him. "I'm so sorry he singled you out, Koutarou. If I could switch places with you…"

She had already asked Hiruma to trade seats but was soundly refused.

Now they were settled in the hull of a massive cargo plane, Akaba and Julie in coveralls and caps bearing the King Mukuro logo, and Koutarou in a wooden crate half-filled with pineapples. As the last of the crates were being installed via forklift, Hiruma sauntered in to say whatever last words he had for them.

"Well hello there, Fucking Spiders. Is everyone all comfy-cozy and ready to go?" He leaned down close to Koutarou's crate, aiming the gleeful question directly at him.

"I still don't understand why I have to be in here," Koutarou grumbled. "Why can't I be a courier too? Nobody will care if there is an extra crewmember. And these pineapples are really sharp."

"The reason is twofold," Hiruma stated with an undercurrent of delight at his own twisted logic. "Firstly, it's for insurance purposes that you are too thick to understand. And secondly, it's to teach you an important lesson about sneaking around other people's houses with intent to rob. Now, if there are no further questions, I'll get out of the way and let takeoff commence."

There was a short pause followed by Koutarou asking, somewhat sheepishly, "Uh, what about when I have to use the bathroom?"

"Pineapples don't talk," Hiruma hissed. He gave the crate a swift kick that rattled its structure, and then turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Julie shouted at him. "Where is this plane headed? What city?"

He ignored her question and kept walking. "Don't you dare piss on my merchandise, Fucking Sideburns!" he called back. "Oh, and watch out for pineapple snakes."

"P-pineapple snakes?" Koutarou squeaked.

The plane's hatch closed with a mechanical groan, throwing the trio into darkness relieved only by a single light bulb dangling from a metal beam in the ceiling. There was a harsh growl as the engine burst into life and soon they were moving, flying off to a location only Hiruma knew.

Julie's fingers were still interlocked with Koutarou's. "Hang in there," she soothed. "He was probably lying about the snakes." She had to force _herself_ to believe that to keep from freaking out. There was no doubt in her mind that the 'insurance purposes' Hiruma spoke of were made up and that he was only treating Koutarou this way to punish him for trying to steal back their collateral. Yes, Koutarou had brought this on himself with his idiotic impulsivity, but she just couldn't feel anything other than sympathy for him. He'd been trying to protect her dignity after all.

Brave, stupid Koutarou.

She stayed right there, as close to him as possible, and Akaba joined her, leaning his back against the crate. Nausea from the takeoff kept her from saying anything early on and both boys seemed to understand, telling her in gentle voices to breath slowly and deeply and reassuring her that it would get better as soon as the plane leveled off.

And it did. Once they'd reached the proper altitude, the ride became smooth and her stomach settled enough for her to revel in their company. For hours, the three of them talked, not about how to confront Jessica, like they knew they should, but about football and music and anything that might take Koutarou's mind off of the discomfort of being boxed in with dozens of prickly pineapples.

After a while, Koutarou started to contribute less and less to the conversation until eventually the only sound he made was a gentle snoring. He had fallen asleep.

"Fuu~ How can he sleep in there?" Akaba asked. "He's on a bed of needle-sharp fruit."

"Well he was up all night snooping around," Julie offered. "That would make anyone tired."

"Yeah," he said. "But only Koutarou would do it."

Julie chuckled softly. With Koutarou fast asleep, she felt suddenly embarrassed being so close to Akaba after what happened earlier that morning. It was awkward enough that she had been holding him in her sleep, but the way he teased her about it was mortifying. And strange; that wasn't the sort of things that Akaba would normally say. But then, how well did she really know Akaba Hayato?

Unexpectedly, he spoke. "Have you decided yet?"

She looked at him, blinking in surprise. "Decided what?"

"Whether or not to pursue the path that would make you and Koutarou more than just friends."

"Oh." Her mouth formed a perfect little circle. They had talked about this when they were still in Hawaii, only a week ago, though it seemed much longer because so much had happened. She and Koutarou had definitely grown closer: played the secret game from their childhood, slept under the stars together, swam naked. And Jessica was no longer her rival, though she wasn't quite out of their lives yet.

"I think… I really like him," she admitted, averting her eyes downward shyly. "But… I'm not going to try to pursue that path until he gets whatever closure he needs with Jessica. It would be selfish of me to make him think about a relationship with me when he still has things he needs to work out for himself."

When she looked up again, Akaba was wearing a tiny smile. "That sounds like a good plan. Just don't become so focused on that path that you close off all others."

It was yet another enigmatic comment, but she tried not to think too much of it. They still had hours left to be stuck on the plane and if she tried to dissect everything Akaba had said she would drive herself crazy. So she decided to close her eyes and join Koutarou in the world of slumber.

She didn't wake up until the plane shuddered as it began to descend. "Whoa!" she gasped, limbs still clumsy as she tried to pull herself up from the floor where she was curled. "I take it we're about to land?"

"Yep," Koutarou's voice chirped from inside his box. You slept through the entire rest of the flight."

"Says the guy who woke just ten minutes ago," Akaba dryly commented. "Now everybody brace yourself because I think it's going to be a bumpy landing."

"And not a moment too soon," said Koutarou. "I have to pee like you wouldn't believe."

All of the sudden the shudder became a shake and then a rumble. Julie felt like her stomach was a can of paint in one of those mixing machines at the hardware store, contents churning into a homogenous goo. She grabbed hold of Koutarou's crate to try to hold her body steady, but it wasn't enough. She was sure she was going to spew when the plane bounced violently. But then it rolled smoothly. They'd made it. And miraculously she'd managed not to vomit.

The light that poured in when the rear hatch opened was pale orange, an early evening sky. Outside was a nondescript loading dock where men were waiting to unload the merchandise. Before doing anything else, Julie rushed out and found a crowbar amongst their tools and rushed back to pry open Koutarou's cage. The wood splintered apart with a crack and a very disheveled, cut, and scraped up Koutarou climbed out.

If the loading dock crew found anything unusual about a Japanese boy emerging from a crate of pineapples, none of them let it show. They all just went about doing their jobs as if the three of them weren't even there.

"Koutarou!" Julie gasped, flinging her arms around him in a tight hug (mindful of his painful-looking scratches). "Are you okay?"

"I'll be better after we find a bathroom," he answered. "Um… on that note, you might not want to squeeze me so tight." She loosened her hold immediately and he pulled out his comb for a quick preening. "That was one hell of an uncomfortable flight. You know, I'm starting to think that Hiruma isn't quite right in the head."

Her mouth curled down in bafflement. "_Starting_ to?"

"His musical sense is definitely offbeat," Akaba mused, scratching his chin. "It appears that the transfer of goods is already being taken care of. Nobody even seems to notice us. Fuu~ I think our jobs here our done."

"Finally," Koutarou huffed. "Now let's find out where the heck we are."

The loading deck was in the back of a single-story brick building, and as they walked away from it and looked around, it was quite obvious that they weren't in a big city. The buildings here (and there weren't all that many) were simple, old-fashioned, and shabby. The one where they'd delivered the pineapples was the largest and appeared to be some sort of factory. There were a few little shops, a convenience store, and a gas station nearby, and a cracked black street that stretched over the flat terrain all the way to the horizon.

"So I guess we didn't land in Los Angeles or San Diego," Koutarou said. "This place is _ultra_-rural. It's the middle of nowhere."

"What do you think the odds are of us meeting somebody who speaks Japanese here?" Julie asked anxiously.

"I can speak enough English to ask someone where we are," Akaba said calmly. "Let's not panic." The determined way in which he spoke gave Julie the impression that he was still trying to make up for his own moment of panic when he jumped off the cruise ship. "Come on guys," he said. "Let's go into that convenience store. There will be someone inside and we can get out of the heat."

It was early evening but the sun had not yet set and it seemed to blaze hotter the lower in the sky it crawled.

"Can you ask whoever runs the store if they have a toilet?" Koutarou asked, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot in a classic 'gotta go' dance.

Since both she and Akaba had access to facilities on the plane, Julie's heart went out to him. She hooked an arm around Koutarou's elbow and hurried with him towards the store.

While Akaba had a conversation she barely understood with the clerk and Koutarou used the bathroom, Julie covetously eyed the shelves of exotic snacks. Even if she couldn't read the descriptions on the packages, the pictures were enough to make her mouth water and to make her desperately wish that they had some money. They were completely broke, and as much as she wanted to feel confident, she was having serious doubts about them making it to New York City with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a _Get Smart_ lunchbox.

Koutarou emerged from the bathroom looking relieved and joined her in eye-feasting on chips and candies and cookies they couldn't afford. "Which one do you think looks the tastiest?" he asked her.

This was something she had already been considering in her head before he arrived and it only took a few seconds for her to deliberate and point out a package of two round cupcakes covered in marshmallow and pink-dyed coconut flakes. "They just look so soft and tasty."

"I think they look like boobs," he said. "I'd go for something salty and crunchy, like those green onion chips." His stomach gurgled loudly and Julie's echoed it. Talking about food wasn't exactly helping. "Hey, if we asked him to, do you think Akaba could convince the clerk to give us something for free?"

Julie glanced over to where their friend was giving a polite bow to the tired-looking man. "Looks like he's done talking," she said. "Besides, most stores aren't real keen to give handouts."

Akaba walked over with an unreadable expression on his face, making it impossible to predict what he was about to tell them. "We're in New Mexico," he said.

"Mexico?" Koutarou stammered. "I thought we were in America!"

Julie let out a groan and dragged her hand down her face. "_New_ Mexico, Koutarou. It's one of the United States. You know, you're lucky you're so cute."

"I forgot there was a _New_ Mexico," he said, as if it were a common mistake. "Great, so we're in New Mexico. Uh… what exactly does that mean?"

"It means we're a long way from New York City," Akaba answered, letting just a hint of a sigh into his voice. "In fact, according to this gentleman I have just spoken to, we're a long way from any means to get to New York City. The closest town with a bus station is over fifty miles away."

"Fifty doesn't sound so bad," Koutarou said optimistically. "We can find a way to travel fifty miles. That's only like thirty kilometers, right?"

"You're converting backwards," Akaba informed. "It's actually over eighty kilometers."

Julie saw it on Koutarou's face immediately, his enthusiasm plunging down to the same low as hers. They were tired and hungry and he was covered in cuts and scratches. Even if it were only a thirty-kilometer trek they wouldn't be able to walk it. Eighty was unthinkable. And now the store clerk was shooting them a suspicious 'buy-something-or-get-out' look that needed no translation.

"Since we've got no money we should probably go outside," she said. "Get out of the way of paying customers."

Koutarou snored. "What paying customers? Besides the loading dock guys and the old man who works here we haven't seen a single other person. This is a ghost town. Is it even a town? There aren't any houses. Maybe the plane crashed into the ocean and we died and this is Hell. Think about it. The isolation? The heat? The tantalizing food we can't eat?"

He was getting worked up so Julie rubbed his back soothingly. "We aren't in Hell," she said gently. "Hell wouldn't let you in with that angel voice of yours. Come on, let's go sit outside."

She kept her physical contact with him as the walked out the door, the still potent heat hitting them like a wall, and found a dusty concrete curb to sit on. Akaba sat down on her other side.

"This is so not smart," Koutarou muttered as Julie's hand moved in soft circles between his shoulder blades. "Not smart at all. That Hiruma knew where this plane was going and he put us onboard anyways. He sent us to the middle of nowhere and he's going to make us pay for it."

Julie didn't even know what to say to him.

"And the worst thing about all of this," he continued, "is that stupid Jessica Coburn is going to perform on _Saturday Night Live_ when it should be Daddy Long Legs. There's no way we can make it to New York in time."

For some reason, Julie expected Akaba to chime in with a blunt statement about how difficult the road ahead would be and propose the best data-supported course of action. But he didn't say a word.

"So where are we going to sleep tonight?" Koutarou asked glumly. "I guess the ground is better than a crate of pineapples."

"Excuse me?"

A foreign voice speaking a familiar language drew the three downcast faces back up. Standing there in front of them was a young girl, around fourteen or fifteen, in denim overalls and a tank top, talking to them in fluent Japanese.

"You three seem lost," she said. "Do you need some help?"

At first, too stunned at hearing this girl speaking in their native tongue, none of the three said anything. After a minute, Julie was first to find her voice.

"Hello. You… speak Japanese?"

"That's right," the girl said with a chipper smile. She was cute, with a long, honey brown braid down her back, hazel eyes, and a smattering of light freckles across the bridge of her nose. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I probably should have introduced myself first. I'm Molly Elizabeth Sullivan, fourteen years old. Pleasure to meet you." Then she extended a hand for shaking; despite using the Japanese language, her body language was very straightforward and American.

Julie shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Julie Sawai. This is Koutarou Sasaki to my left and Hayato Akaba to my right. Do you live here in this town?"

Molly let out a laugh. "This little outpost can't really be called a town. No, I just came here with my big brother to pick up an order of pineapple salsa from the factory. Strange place to set up business if you ask me, but everyone is crazy about the stuff back on our ranch so we get it right from the source. Oh yeah, we live on a ranch in the town fifty miles east of here."

She talked a lot, and quickly, which made Julie wonder if she'd learned Japanese from teenage girls like her sister, Harumi. But she didn't mind. Molly was friendly and energetic and, quite possibly, their savior. They were in America now and it was time to be bold.

"Pardon me, Miss Sullivan," she said. "I hope I'm not overstepping any bounds here, but would you possibly be able to give me and my friends a ride to your hometown?"

"Oh, it's just Molly," the girl chirped. "Of course we'll give you a lift. That is, as long as you folks don't mind riding in the back of a pickup truck."

A cheery smile came onto Julie's face. "We don't mind. In fact, we'd be eternally grateful." She stood up and the boys did the same, expressing their thanks.

Molly looked closely at Koutarou and then at Akaba, and suddenly a look of epiphany lit her face like two candles flickering behind her amber eyes. "Now I know why your names sounded so familiar. You're the two guys from Daddy Long Legs who disappeared on their cruise ship. Your song is on an iPod commercial, right?"

Julie's stomach clenched. She'd forgotten that they were trying to keep a low profile and used their real names (though to be fair, they hadn't done a thing to disguise themselves).

Koutarou, however, seemed elated at the identification, as if he had forgotten that he was famous. "That's right!" he proudly declared. "We _are_ big rock stars! Oh wait! But you can't tell anyone. Crap! Everyone in town is going to recognize us, aren't they?"

"I don't think you have much to worry about in our town," Molly chuckled. "Outside of myself, and maybe my brother, nobody within a hundred-mile radius knows a thing about your music. If it isn't classic rock, they don't listen to it."

"You won't tell anyone who we are, then, will you?" Akaba asked politely.

"Of course not," she replied. "And like I said, it wouldn't mean a thing to them anyways."

Now that everything was in order, she led them to a dirty blue pickup truck where a young man, about their age, was hoisting a large box into the back. Molly addressed him and started talking to him in English. At least, it started out as talking, but it rapidly became an argument, presumably about her unilateral decision to pick up three Japanese hitchhikers.

In between barks of English, Molly's brother shot a mistrustful glare in their direction, beaming it first at Koutarou, next Akaba. But when his eyes met Julie's, his face immediately smoothed to charmed smile.

"Well hello there," he greeted in Japanese. "What's a beautiful young lady like you doing in a place like this?"

"It's a long story," she answered, feeling strangely like a steak in front of a lion. "It would really mean a lot to us if you gave us a ride though. We'd pay you if we could, but…"

"No, no, no," he clucked. "I wouldn't dare ask for anything in return. It's a matter of human courtesy. Roy Sullivan, at your service."

At this point, he took Julie's small hand delicately in his own and pressed a chivalrous kiss to her knuckles. Julie could hear the air hissing angrily out of Koutarou's nostrils.

With Roy behind the wheel, Molly joined the trio in the back and they explained to her the strange series of events that had brought them to New Mexico (omitting some details such as naked swimming and projectile vomiting). They told her about how they had to get to New York City. She in turn told them about the eight years her family had lived in Japan because her parents worked at a military base there, about how she loved Japan and missed it greatly.

The sunset was the most beautiful that Julie had ever seen, orange and red and pink and purple wrapped the sky like gossamer. When it ended the stars came out, thousands of them, countless stars like pearls scattered on dark blue velvet. And the desert air felt so wonderful as they whipped through it.

No less than six times during the hour-long drive, Koutarou glowered viciously through the truck's rear window at their driver. He clearly didn't like the guy. It probably didn't help matters that Roy was quite handsome.

Eventually, empty plains gave way to signs of civilization: power lines and gas stations and buildings here and there, growing denser as they drove in deeper. It looked like a small town, the type where nobody bats an eye at four kids riding in a truck bed, but there was life in it.

The truck turned a sharp corner and the passengers had to brace themselves. Julie thought nothing of it, but Molly looked surprised and confused. "Where the heck is he going?" she asked, freckly nose crinkled. "This isn't the way to the ranch."

They swerved into a parking lot where Roy stopped the truck and turned off the engine. Before he even climbed out the door, his little sister was standing up and had her hands on her hips. And so, Julie, Koutarou, and Akaba became witnesses to yet another sibling squabble in English.

"What are they fighting about now?" Koutarou asked Akaba in a hushed voice.

Akaba just held a finger over his lips and hissed a "Shhh" behind it so he could listen. Then they heard the unmistakable word 'football' and Julie saw both boys' eyes widen excitedly.

When the snapping seemed to be over, Molly turned to them and sighed. "Sorry, guys. My idiot brother can't manage his time so he didn't leave enough to drop us off before his football game with his old high school chums. I'm not old enough to drive, so I guess we have to stick around until it's over. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Julie said. "The truth is, we kind of like American football. Isn't that right, guys?"

But Akaba and Koutarou weren't paying any attention to her. Both of them were leaning over the wall of the truck bed, watching Roy and his friends gather and theorizing about what position each played, what his strengths might be, and what _they_ might do to combat it. It was obvious how much they still loved the game.

"Dammit!" Roy bellowed suddenly, an expletive that easily translated into any language. He spun around and slapped his hands down on the edge of the truck and let out a grunt of utter defeat.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked instinctively.

He looked up at her and, as upset as he clearly was, still managed to aim a charming little smirk at her that made Koutarou growl. "A couple of guys didn't show," he explained in a heavy voice. "If I don't find two more players, we automatically forfeit to those jerks from Breakwater."

Molly loosed a haughty laugh. "Oh no. So sad. Can't play. I guess we'll have to just take our guests back to the ranch and get them settled for the night."

"Who said they're staying at the ranch?" Roy snarled. "No way we're letting two strange men sleep in our home." Interestingly, he didn't voice any objection to Julie shacking up with them.

"They've got nowhere else to stay," Molly pleaded. "And besides, they're… they're my friends."

"If you let us stay with you, we'll fill the positions on your team!" Koutarou blurted out the words as if he was physically incapable of holding them back anymore.

Roy's eyebrows twisted skeptically. "Do you two really know the rules to American football?"

"We know the basics," Akaba said coolly. "But if you don't trust us, I can tweak the deal a bit. You'll only put us up for the night if your team wins. What do you say?"

To be continued…


End file.
